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The  Publication  Committee  of  the  Caxton  Club 
certifies  that  this  copy  of "  An  Essay  on  Colo- 
phons "  is  one  of  an  edition  consisting  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty-two  copies  on  French  hand- 
made paper  and  three  copies  on  imperial  Japanese 
paper,  printed  from  type,  and  completed  in  the 
month  of  August,  nineteen  hundred  and  five 


AN  ESSAY  ON 
COLOPHONS 


AN 

ESSAY  ON  COLOPHONS 


WITH    SPECIMENS 
AND    TRANSLATIONS 


BY 

ALFRED    W.   POLLARD 

AND   AN    INTRODUCTION  BY 

RICHARD    GARNETT 


CHICAGO 

THE    CAXTON    CLUB 

MCMV 


Copyright,  1905,  by 
The  Caxton  Club 


CONTENTS   AND 
LIST    OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION ix 


I.  THE    COLOPHON'S    REASON    FOR    EXISTENCE  .     .       3 

Homer.      Florence:  [B.  Libri,]  1488 5 

Breslau  Missal.     Mainz:  P.  Schoeffer,  1483  ....  8 

II.   COLOPHONS  AT    MAINZ 9 

Latin  Bible.      Mainz:  Fust  and  Schoeffer,  1462  .      .  10 

Balbus.     Catholicon.     Mainz:  [J.  Gutenberg,]  1460    .  14 

Cicero.     De  Officiis.     Mainz:  Fust  and  Schoeffer,  1465  18 

S.  Jerome's  Epistles.  Mainz:  P.  Schoeffer,  1470  .  .  20 
Tritheim.     Chronicarum  opus.     Mainz  :  Joh.  Schoeffer, 

1 5i  5 27 

III.   COLOPHONS  AT  VENICE 30 

Cicero.      Epistolae  ad  Familiares.      Venice :  John  of 

Speier,  1469 , 32 

Cicero.     Epistolae  ad  Familiares.     Second  Edition. 

Venice:  John  of  Speier,  1469 33 

Pliny.     Historia  Naturalis.      Venice:  John  of  Speier, 

H69 35 

Dante.      Divina  Commedia.       Venice  :   Wendelin  of 

Speier,  1476 40 

Cicero.      Rhetorica.      Venice:   N.  Jenson,   1470     .      .  42 

Decor  Puellarum.      Venice:    N.  Jenson,  1461  for  1 4,7  1  45 

Cicero.      De  Oratore.      Venice:   C.  Valdarfer,  1470     .  49 

Cicero.  Orationes.  Venice:  C.  Valdarfer,  1471.  .  50 
Caracciolus.      Quadragesimale  (and  several  other  books). 

Venice:  Bartolommeo  of  Cremona,  1472  .  .  .  .  52 
vii 


viii  CONTENTS 


PAGE 


IV.   PRINTERS'    COLOPHONS   IN   OTHER   TOWNS  .     .     57 

Meissen  Missal.      Freiberg  :   C.  Kachelofen,  1495    .      .  66 

Bononia  illustrata.  Bologna:  Plato  de  Benedictis,  1494  73 
Guido  de  Baysio.     Super  Decretis.      Venice :  John  of 

Cologne  and  Nicolas  Jenson,  1481 78 

Boniface  VIII.      Decretals.      Basel:   M.  Wenssler,  1477  82 

Fasciculus  Temporum.  Louvain :  Veldener,  1476  .  .  84 
Ioh.  Faber.      Breuiarium  super  codice.     Louvain  :  John 

of  Westphalia,  c.  1475 84 

S.  Cyprian.      Epistulae.     Rome  :  Sweynheym  and 

Pannartz,  147 1  (and  in  many  other  of  their  books)  .  87 
Cicero.      Orationes  Philippicae.      Rome  :   Ulrich  Han 

[1470]  (and  in  several  other  of  Han's  books)       .      .  88 

V.   PUBLISHERS'    COLOPHONS 91 

Latin  Bible.  Vicenza :  Leonardus  Achates,  1 476  .  .  94 
Laurentius  Valla.      Elegantiae.      Rome :   Arnold 

Pannartz,  1475 96 

Gasparo  Visconti.    Rithmi.    Milan:  Ant.  Zarotus,  1493  103 

Journal  Spirituel.      Paris:  Verard,  1505 105 

Statius.  Achilleis.  Parma:  Steph.  Corallus,  1473  •  109 
Franciscus  Curtius.      Consilia.     Milan:  U.  Scinzenzeler, 

1496 116 

VI.  COLOPHONS  OF  AUTHORS  AND  EDITORS     .  .     .123 

Georgius  Natta.      Repetitiones.      Pavia  :   C.  de 

Canibus,  1492 126 

Henricus  Bruno.     Super  Institutionibus.     Louvain  :  Aeg. 

van  der  Heerstraten  [1488?] 128 

Petrus  de  Ancharano.     Repetitio.     Bologna :  Jo.  Jac.  de 

Benedictis  for  Benedictus  Hectoris,  1493  .  •  •  .141 
Roman  Missal.     Venice:  G.  Arriuabenus  and  P.  de 

Paganinis,  1484 147 

Cicero.      Epistolae  Familiares.      Milan:  Lauagna,  1472  150 

Homiliae.      Basel:   N.  Kessler,  1498 155 

VII.   REPETITIONS,  THEFTS,  AND  ADAPTATIONS  .     .159 

VIII.  DATES  IN  COLOPHONS 170 

INDEXES 185 


INTRODUCTION 


JEAVING  the  Colophon  in  its  biblio- 
graphical aspects  to  the  able  hand  by 
which  these  are  about  to  be  treated,  it 
may  not  be  amiss  to  preface  Mr.  Pol- 
lard's researches  by  a  brief  inquiry  into 
the  origin  and  significance  of  the  term  itself,  and  the 
reason  why  the  colophon  for  so  long  performed  the 
office  of  the  title-page. 

Colophon  originally  meant  the  head  or  summit  of  any- 
thing. It  is  clearly  cognate  with  KopocpY],  but  is  a  word 
of  far  less  importance,  for  while  thirteen  derivatives 
from  xopocp-yj  are  given  in  Liddell  and  Scott's  Dictionary, 
v.o\oyw>v  has  not  one.  The  former  word  is  continually 
used  by  Homer;  the  latter  is  first  met  with  in  Plato,  and 
then  and  afterwards  only  in  a  figurative  sense.  Yet  it  is 
clear  that  the  word  must  from  the  first  have  borne  the 
signification  of  "summit"  or  "crest,"  for  such  is  the  po- 


IX 


x  INTRODUCTION 

sition  of  the  city  of  Colophon,  which  must  have  derived 
its  name  from  its  elevation,  just  as  a  modern  house  may 
be  called  "  Hilltop."  Names  of  this  kind,  if  not  given  at 
the  first,  are  rarely  given  at  all ;  we  must  suppose,  then, 
that  colophon  was  a  recognized  Greek  word  for  "summit" 
when  the  city  was  founded  about  the  tenth  century  B.C., 
according  to  Strabo  by  a  Pylian  colony,  though  this 
seems  difficult  to  reconcile  with  the  fact  of  Colophon 
being  an  Ionian  city.  In  any  case,  the  word  has  long  sur- 
vived the  place. 

According  to  the  information  supplied  by  the  New 
English  Dictionary,  colophon  made  a  brief  appearance  in 
English,  in  the  first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  in 
its  secondary  classical  sense  of  a  "finishing  stroke"  or 
"crowning  touch,"  being  used  thus  in  Burton's  "Anat- 
omy of  Melancholy,"  and  again  in  1635  by  John  Swan, 
who  writes  in  his  "  Speculum  Mundi"of  how  God  "comes 
to  the  Creation  of  Man  and  makes  him  the  colophon  or 
conclusion  of  all  things  else."  Of  the  use  of  the  word 
colophon  in  the  particular  significance  elucidated  in  this 
essay — the  end  or  ultimate  paragraph  of  a  book  or  manu- 
script— the  earliest  example  quoted  in  the  New  English 
Dictionary  is  from  Warton's  "History  of  English  Poetry," 
published  in  1 774.  A  quarter  of  a  century  before  this  it 
is  found  as  a  term  needing  no  explanation  in  the  first 
edition  of  the  "Typographical  Antiquities"  of  Joseph 
Ames,  published  in  1749.  How  much  older  it  is  than 
this  cannot  lightly  be  determined.  The  bibliographical 
use  appears  to  be  unknown  to  the  Greek  and  Latin  lexi- 
cographers, medieval  as  well  as  classical.    Pending  fur- 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

ther  investigation,  it  seems  not  unlikely  that  it  may  have 
been  developed  out  of  the  secondary  classical  sense  al- 
ready mentioned  sometime  during  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, when  the  interest  in  bibliography  which  was  then 
beginning  to  be  felt  would  naturally  call  into  existence 
new  terms  of  art.  The  Latin  word  subscript™,  which  is 
used  in  a  not  very  dissimilar  sense,  could  hardly  have 
been  modernized  without  ambiguity.  The  Greek  xopcovic, 
used  for  a  flourish  at  the  end  of  a  manuscript,  had  not 
entered  into  any  modern  language.  It  is  possible  that  it 
was  thus  only  at  a  comparatively  late  date  that  a  need  was 
felt  for  a  special  word  to  denote  the  final  paragraph  of  a 
book,  and  that  the  metaphorical  use  of  colophon  for  a 
"finishing  touch"  caused  it  to  be  specialized  in  this  sense. 
But  whenever  this  use  of  the  word  colophon  may  have 
arisen,  it  is  manifest  that  if  this  paragraph  is  to  convey  any 
description  of  the  book,  it  fulfils  the  office  of  a  title-page; 
and  when  we  examine  the  manner  in  which  colophon 
came  to  bear  this  special  connotation,  we  shall  see  that 
the  printer's  colophon  could  not,  except  for  a  very  short 
period  while  men's  ideas  were  still  indefinite,  have  co- 
existed with  the  title-page. 

The  idea  especially  implied  in  the  Greek  proverbial 
phrase  "  to  put  on  the  colophon  "  is  that  of  putting  the 
finishing  stroke  to  anything,  as  when  a  building  is  com- 
pleted by  the  addition  of  the  coping-stone,  or  a  discourse 
is  summed  up  by  a  recapitulation  of  its  general  gist.  Is 
the  word  simply  used  in  the  sense  of  a  crowning  peak  ? 
or  has  it  a  special  connection  with  the  city  of  Colophon? 
Ancient  writers  assert  the  latter,  and  assign  two  reasons, 


xii  INTRODUCTION 

one  of  which  at  least  seems  fanciful.  Strabo  says  that  the 
allusion  is  to  the  decisive  charges  of  the  Colophonian 
cavalry,  which  were  made  at  the  last  moment.  There 
seems  no  other  indication  of  Colophon  having  possessed 
a  high  military  reputation.  The  Scholiast  on  the  "  Theae- 
tetus"  of  Plato  gives  a  more  probable  derivation;  he  says 
that,  on  account  of  their  having  received  the  Smyrnaeans 
into  their  city,  the  people  of  Colophon  were  allowed  a 
casting-vote  in  the  Panionium,  or  congress  of  the  twelve 
Ionian  cities,  and  hence  the  expression  was  equivalent 
to  "  turn  the  scale."  There  would  be  nothing  unreason- 
able in  this  supposition  if  we  were  sure  that  the  Colopho- 
nians  actually  had  this  casting-vote ;  but  the  notion  may 
well  have  been  invented  to  explain  the  proverb ;  and, 
after  all,  if  vcoXo^cbv  has  the  sense  of"  crest,"  no  historical 
explanation  seems  necessary. 

We  have,  however,  solely  to  consider  here  the  appli- 
cation of  the  term  colophon  to  books,  and  must  ask, 
What  portion  of  a  book  would  embody  that  final  touch 
which  we  have  seen  to  be  essential  to  the  idea  of  a  colo- 
phon? In  modern  times  we  should  probably  say  the  im- 
print, for  although  the  printer's  name,  as  well  as  the  pub- 
lisher's, may  be  given  at  the  bottom  or  on  the  reverse  of 
the  title-page,  it  is  more  usual  to  find  it  at  the  end.  The 
ancient  colophon  also  gave  this  information,  but  it  com- 
monly gave  much  more.  To  understand  the  part  it  played 
in  early  printing,  we  must  go  back  to  its  predecessor,  the 
manuscript. 

Manuscripts,  as  the  parents  of  printed  books,  have  ne- 
cessarily exercised  the  greatest  influence  on  their  develop- 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

ment.  A  step  which  might  have  been  very  important 
was  taken  when,  probably  early  in  the  fifth  century,  the 
form  most  convenient  for  the  printed  book  was  estab- 
lished by  the  definitive  supersession  of  the  roll  form  of 
manuscript  by  the  codex,  or  manuscript  in  modern  book 
form.  Codices  are  of  sufficient  antiquity  to  be  figured  in 
the  paintings  at  Pompeii,  but  the  derivation  from  caudi- 
cesy  thin  leaves  of  wood,  shows  that  they  were  not  at  first 
much  used  for  literary  purposes,  but  rather  for  accounts 
or  memoranda.  When  they  began  to  compete  with  the 
roll,  a  step  in  the  direction  of  convenience  which  may  be 
appreciated  by  us  if  we  can  imagine  that  all  our  books  had 
at  one  time  been  printed  in  newspaper  form,  we  find  the 
colophon  already  installed  under  the  title  of  index.  This 
did  not  denote  the  key  to  the  contents  of  a  book,  thought 
so  indispensable  in  modern  times,  but  to  the  title,  giving 
generally  the  subject  and  author  of  the  book  with  the  ut- 
most brevity,  and  written  at  the  end,  precisely  like  a  colo- 
phon, which  in  fact  it  was,  though  not  bearing  the  name. 
As  the  papyrus  roll  was  not  bound,  there  could  be  no  let- 
tering upon  a  cover  unless  when,  as  was  sometimes  the 
case,  a  fine  manuscript  was  inclosed  within  a  case  or  wrap- 
page for  its  protection ;  and  the  inconvenience  of  having 
to  open  every  roll  to  find  the  title  soon  suggested  the  idea 
of  hanging  the  index  outside  the  roll  on  a  separate  slip, 
brightly  dyed  so  as  to  attract  attention.  Examples  may 
be  seen  in  paintings  from  Pompeii.  The  general,  though 
as  yet  by  no  means  universal,  displacement  of  papyrus  by 
parchment  led  to  the  introduction  of  binding,  early  in  the 
fifth  century,  as  the  best  method  of  preserving  codices.    It 


xiv  INTRODUCTION 

had,  of  course,  been  practised  before,  but  could  not  make 
much  progress  while  the  majority  of  books  were  papyrus 
scrolls;  and  even  in  the  case  of  codices  it  seems  to  have 
been  chiefly  employed  for  the  opportunity  it  afforded  of 
adorning  a  valued  manuscript  with  a  splendid  exterior. 
The  disuse  of  the  roll,  however,  soon  made  binding 
universal.  In  the  Customs  of  the  Augustinian  priory  at 
Barnwell  it  is  distinctly  laid  down:  "As  the  books  ought 
to  be  mended,  printed,  and  taken  care  of  by  the  Librarian, 
so  ought  they  to  be  properly  bound  by  him." 

The  question  of  binding,  as  it  concerns  the  colophon, 
is  chiefly  interesting  from  the  point  it  raises  whether  the 
colophon,  representing  as  it  certainly  did  the  title-page, 
was  the  sole  clue  to  the  contents  of  a  manuscript,  or 
whether  the  binding  was  lettered  by  a  label  affixed,  or 
by  the  author's  name  being  written  on  it.  The  books 
represented  in  the  picture  of  "Ezra  Writing  the  Law," 
the  frontispiece  to  the  Codex  Amiatinus,  reproduced  in 
Mr.  Clark's  work  on  "The  Care  of  Books,"  show  no 
signs  of  lettering;  and  centuries  later,  in  the  Augustinian 
Customs,  we  find  the  librarian  enjoined  not  to  pack  the 
books  too  closely  together,  "  tie  nimia  compressio  que- 
rent i  moram  itivectat."  Delay,  therefore,  in  finding  a 
book  on  the  shelf  was  recognized  as  an  evil  to  be  guarded 
against:  it  is  scarcely  likely  that  this  would  have  been  so 
manifest  if  the  books  had  been  distinctly  lettered,  or  that 
the  librarian  would  not  have  been  enjoined  to  supply  let- 
tering if  lettering  had  been  the  practice. 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  the  colophon  of  a  manu- 
script would  be  the  principal  means  of  affording  infor- 


INTRODUCTION  xv 

mation  respecting  its  contents;  but,  if  we  may  so  far 
extend  the  signification  of  the  term  as  to  cover  any  addi- 
tion made  at  the  end  by  the  transcriber,  and  having  no 
reference  to  the  subject-matter  of  the  book,  it  was  capa- 
ble of  conveying  much  beside.  How  touchingly  the 
feelings  of  the  copyist,  "  all  with  weary  task  fordone," 
craving  to  be  assured  that  he  has  not  labored  in  vain, 
are  portrayed  in  this  final  note  to  a  volume  written  in  the 
ninth  century ! 

I  beseech  you,  my  friend,  when  you  are  reading  my  book,  to 
keep  your  hands  behind  its  back,  for  fear  you  should  do  mis- 
chief to  the  text  by  some  sudden  movement,  for  a  man  who 
knows  nothing  about  writing  thinks  that  it  is  no  concern  of  his.1 
Whereas  to  a  writer  the  last  line  is  as  sweet  as  the  port  is  to  a 
sailor.  Three  fingers  hold  the  pen,  but  the  whole  body  toils. 
Thanks  be  to  God,  I,  Warembert,  wrote  this  book  in  God's 
name.     Thanks  be  to  God.    Amen. 

Very  moving,  too,  is  the  injunction  of  some  tender  spirit 
in  a  manuscript  of  the  fourteenth  century  : 

Whoever  pursues  his  studies  in  this  book,  should  be  careful 
to  handle  the  leaves  gently  and  delicately,  so  as  to  avoid  tear- 
ing them  by  reason  of  their  thinness ;  and  let  him  imitate  the 
example  of  Jesus  Christ,  who,  when  he  had  quietly  opened  the 
book  of  Isaiah  and  read  therein  attentively,  rolled  it  up  with 
reverence,  and  gave  it  again  to  the  Minister. 

On  the  other  hand,  manuscripts  frequently  contain  ana- 
themas against  the  pernicious  race  of  book  thieves,  which 
can  hardly  be  deemed  uncalled  for  when  we  remember 

'We  follow  Mr.  Clark's  rendering,      se  put  at  habere  labor  em,"  "  thinks  all 
but  think  that,  in  spite  of  Priscian,  the      that  mighty  easy." 
writer  must  have  intended  by  "  nullum 


xvi  INTRODUCTION 

the  frank  admission  innocently  volunteered  by  a  Sicilian 
knight,  in  a  ballad  translated  by  Rossetti,  that  he  had 
stolen  his  Bible  out  of  a  church,  "the  priest  being  gone 
away."  Sometimes  additional  force  is  sought  to  be 
given  to  these  imprecations  by  the  assertion  that  the  book 
is  to  be  regarded  as  the  personal  property  of  the  patron 
saint  of  the  church  or  monastery — St.  Alban,  for  example. 
We  have  dwelt  at  some  length  upon  the  question  of 
colophons,  or  inscriptions  corresponding  to  colophons, 
in  manuscripts,  as  these  have  been  little  investigated,  and 
form  the  groundwork  of  the  more  important  inquiry 
concerning  the  development  of  the  colophon  in  the 
printed  book,  which  is  the  subject  of  Mr.  Pollard's 
essay.  It  would  be  interesting  to  collect  from  medieval 
manuscripts  and  bring  together  in  one  corpus  the  ejacula- 
tions of  medieval  scribes,  whether  minatory,  hortatory, 
or  simply  expressive  of  gratitude  or  relief  at  the  termina- 
tion of  their  irksome  labors.  How  far  this  latter  senti- 
ment may  have  been  qualified  by  the  artist's  pleasure  in 
his  calligraphy  must  be  matter  of  conjecture.  If  he  was 
illuminator  as  well  as  transcriber,  he  must  frequently 
have  had  ample  ground  for  complacency.  It  would  be 
a  proof  how  little  the  conception  of  painting  as  an  art 
independent  of  every  other  was  developed  if  we  could 
suppose  the  illustrator  of  a  fourteenth-century  Dante, 
for  example,  whose  talent  would  in  this  age  have  made 
his  fortune  as  a  painter  of  pictures,condescending  to  the 
humble  labors  of  a  copyist,  exquisite  as  his  calligraphy 
might  be.  Yet  the  craft  of  the  illuminator  was  destined 
to  be  absolutely  obliterated  by  printing,  while  that  of 


INTRODUCTION  xvii 

the  transcriber  exercised  an  important  influence  on  early 
printing,  as  evinced  by  the  care  which  the  first  printers 
took  to  adapt  their  types  to  the  forms  of  letters  prevalent 
in  the  manuscripts  of  their  respective  countries. 

The  same  adaptation  is  observable  in  the  use  of  the 
colophon  by  the  early  printers  in  the  place  of  a  title-page, 
when,  as  was  not  always  the  case,  they  thought  fit  to  give 
a  title  at  all.  To  us  this  seems  almost  incomprehensible. 
The  immense  advantage  of  a  book  bearing  a  title  on  its 
front  and  manifesting  its  nature  from  the  first  is  so  appar- 
ent that  our  practical  age  cannot  comprehend  how  it 
could  have  been  less  obvious  to  our  predecessors  than  to 
ourselves.  It  further  seems  in  accordance  with  common 
sense  and  general  usage  in  all  similar  matters  that  pro- 
clamation should  be  made  at  the  beginning  and  not  at  the 
end,  at  the  entrance  and  not  at  the  exit,  as  the  dedication 
of  the  temple  is  inscribed  above  the  portico.  The  neglect 
of  this  apparently  self-evident  rule  is  perhaps  to  be  ex- 
plained by  the  influence  of  the  "  traditions  of  the  scribes," 
which  affected  early  printing  in  many  ways.  We  have 
alluded  to  the  manner  in  which  types  were  modelled  upon 
the  style  of  handwriting  in  use  in  the  respective  countries, 
the  beautifully  clear  Italian  type  contrasting  so  markedly 
with  the  massive  and  imposing  ruggedness  of  the  Gothic. 
We  also  see  how  the  tradition  of  illumination  long  induced 
printers  to  leave  blank  spaces  for  capital  letters,  especially 
at  the  beginnings  of  chapters,  to  be  filled  in  by  the  artist, 
and  to  employ  the  services  of  a  "  rubricator  "  to  preserve 
at  least  some  phantom  of  the  wealth  of  color  which  the 
printing  art  was  destroying  as  effectually  as  in  our  day  the 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

photograph  has  killed  the  woodcut.  The  elegant  border, 
also,  was  a  legacy  from  the  manuscript  to  the  printed  book, 
and  this,  fortunately  lending  itself  to  engraving,  admitted 
of  preservation.  The  service  rendered  by  printing  to  en- 
graving, it  may  be  parenthetically  remarked,  is  a  great  set- 
off against  the  injury  it  inflicted  upon  art  in  the  shape  of 
pictorial  illustration.  All  these  circumstances  indicate 
the  strong  influence  of  the  scribe  upon  the  printer ;  and 
it  is  perhaps  not  surprising  that  the  latter  should  for 
some  time  have  followed  the  example  of  his  predecessor, 
and  given  no  title  except  occasionally  the  brief  heading 
which  frequently  precedes  the  first  chapter  of  a  manu- 
script. This  was  never  set  out  on  a  distinct  leaf,  an  indis- 
pensable condition  of  a  title-page,  until  many  years  after 
printing  had  effectually  dethroned  transcription  as  the 
method  of  the  reproduction  of  books.  The  first  title- 
page  did  not  appear  until  some  twenty  years  after  the 
invention  of  printing.  Title-pages  became  the  rule  about 
1490,  but  it  was  not  until  1493  that  the  announcement 
of  the  printer  or  publisher,  hitherto  buried  in  the  colo- 
phon, began  to  appear  upon  them. 

This  it  is  which  gives  the  colophon  such  extraordi- 
nary importance  in  the  history  of  early  printing.  Wher- 
ever one  exists,  the  question  of  place  and  printer,  and 
frequently  the  question  of  date,  is  entirely  solved.  Where 
there  is  no  colophon,  we  are  left  to  conjecture.  The 
problem  is,  indeed,  generally  soluble  by  a  really  scien- 
tific investigation,  but  it  is  only  of  late  that  science  has 
been  thoroughly  brought  to  bear  upon  it  by  a  Bradshaw 
and  a  Proctor.     It  is  no  unimportant  matter,  for  every 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

determination  of  the  locality  of  an  early  book  is  a  para- 
graph added  to  the  history  of  the  culture  of  the  country 
where  it  originated.  The  beginnings  of  printing,  as  of 
other  arts,  were  obscure,  and  we  must  be  most  grateful 
for  any  information  which  has  been  afforded  us  by  men 
who  assuredly  no  more  thought  of  posterity  than  does 
any  tradesman  who  advertises  his  wares  without  reflect- 
ing that  he  too  is  contributing  something  to  the  history 
of  culture  or  of  industry.  The  ancient  printers  had  no 
more  notion  than  Shakspere  had  what  interesting  figures 
they  would  appear  in  the  eyes  of  posterity. 

The  colophon,  however,  does  much  more  than  reveal 
matters  of  fact.  It  admits  us  in  a  measure  into  the  inti- 
macy of  the  old  printer,  shows  us  what  manner  of  man 
he  was,  and  upon  what  he  rested  his  claims  to  esteem  as 
a  benefactor  of  the  community.  We  find  him  very  de- 
cided in  asserting  his  superiority  to  the  copyist,  a  re- 
action, perhaps,  against  a  feeling  entertained  in  some 
quarters  that  the  new  art  was  base  and  mechanical  in 
comparison  with  the  transcriber's,  with  which,  in  the 
estimation  of  the  devotee  of  calligraphy,  it  could  only 
compare  as  a  motor-car  may  compare  with  an  Arab 
steed.  That  such  a  feeling  existed  in  highly  cultivated 
quarters  we  learn  from  the  disdain  for  printing  expressed 
by  the  eminent  scholar  and  educator  Vespasiano  da  Bis- 
ticci,  who  had  collected  the  library  of  the  Duke  of 
Ferrara,  and  who  looked  upon  the  manuscripts  he  had 
gathered  with  such  joy  and  pride  as  an  admiral  of  the 
old  school  may  have  looked  upon  his  lovely  frigates  in 
comparison  with  the  ugly,  but  undeniably  more  power- 


xx  INTRODUCTION 

fill,  ironclad.  Such  printers  as  Jenson  might  have  replied 
that  their  typographical  productions  were  hardly  in- 
ferior in  beauty  to  the  manuscript,  but  we  are  not  aware 
that  they  ever  took  this  line.  They  rather  lay  stress 
upon  a  more  tangible  advantage — their  superior  ac- 
curacy. They  also  affirm,  and  with  truth,  that  their  work 
is  easier  to  read.  "As  plain  as  print "  is  a  proverb  which 
has  grown  up  of  itself.  They  might  also  have  dwelt  upon 
the  various  sorrows  and  afflictions  which  copyists  pre- 
pared for  their  employers,  so  graphically  described  by 
Petrarch.  Petrarch's  lamentation  must  have  been  a  rare 
enjoyment  to  the  first  printer  who  published  it,  if  he  un- 
derstood it  and  had  professional  feeling. 

Much  more  might  be  said  about  the  old  printer  as  re- 
vealed by  the  colophon — his  trade  jealousies,  his  dispo- 
sition to  monopolize,  his  deference  to  patrons,  his  joy  at 
having  carried  his  work  through  the  press,  his  conviction 
that  his  labors  have  not  been  unattended  by  the  divine 
blessing.  That  inferior  person,  the  author,  too,  occa- 
sionally gets  a  good  word,  especially  when  his  authorship 
assumes  the  form  of  translation  or  commentary.  But  our 
business  is  mainly  with  the  colophon  in  its  literary  and 
bibliographical  aspects,  and  it  is  time  to  make  way  for 
Mr.  Pollard,  whose  monograph  upon  it  will,  we  believe, 
be  found  the  fullest,  the  most  entertaining,  and  the  most 
accurate  extant. 

R.  Garnett. 


AN    ESSAY  ON 
COLOPHONS 


THE    COLOPHON'S    REASON    FOR    EXISTENCE 


I H  E  interest  of  individual  colophons 
in  early  printed  books  has  often 
been  noted.  The  task  which,  un- 
der the  kind  auspices  of  the  Cax- 
ton  Club,  is  here  to  be  assayed  is 
the  more  ambitious,  if  less  enter- 
taining, one  of  making  a  special 
study  of  this  feature  in  fifteenth- 
century  books,  with  the  object  of  ascertaining  what 
light  it  throws  on  the  history  of  printing  and  on  the 
habits  of  the  early  printers  and  publishers.  If,  instead 
of  studying  each  colophon  singly  for  the  sake  of  the  in- 
formation it  may  give  us  as  to  the  book  which  it  com- 
pletes, or  for  its  own  human  interest, — if  it  chance  to 
have  any, — we  compare  the  same  printer's  colophons  in 
successive  books,  and  the  colophons  of  different  printers 
in  successive  editions;  if  we  group  those  which  have  sim- 
ilar characteristics,  and  glance  also  at  the  books  which 
have  no  colophons  at  all,  or  quite  featureless  ones,  then 

3 


4  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

if  there  is  anything  to  be  learnt  from  colophons,  we 
ought  to  be  by  way  of  learning  it ;  and  if  there  is  only 
very  little  to  be  learnt,  that  also  is  a  fact  to  be  noted. 
The  existence,  incidentally  referred   to  in   our  last 
paragraph,  of  books  which  have  no  colophons,  or  colo- 
phons from  which  all  positive  information  is  conspicu- 
ously absent,  is  a  point  which  may  well  be  enlarged  on. 
In  Mr.  Proctor's  "  Index  of  Early  Printed  Books  "  the 
one  unsatisfactory  feature  is  the  absence  of  any  distin- 
guishing mark  between  the  books  which  themselves 
contain  a  statement  of  their  printer's  name,  and  those  of 
which  the  printer  was  discovered  by  the  comparison 
of  types,  or  ornaments,  or  other  inferential   evidence. 
Mr.  Proctor  used  humorously  to  excuse  himself  for  this 
omission  on  the  ground  that  he  had  already  used  so 
many  different  symbols  that  if  he  had  added  one  more 
to  their  number  the  camel's  back  would  have  broken. 
But  the  omission,  while  occasionally  vexatious  to  the 
student,  is  regrettable  chiefly  as  obscuring  the  greatness 
of  Mr.  Proctor's  own  work.      If  all  books  gave  full 
particulars  as  to  their  printers  and  dates,  there  would 
have  been  little  need  of  Bradshaw's  "  natural-history  " 
method,  or  of  Mr.  Proctor's  almost  miraculous  skill  in 
applying  it.     It  is  the  absence  of  colophons  in  so  many 
books   that   calls   into  play  the  power  of  identifying 
printers  by  their  types,  and  of  dating  books  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  new  "  sorts,"  or  the  disuse  of  old  ones.     A 
single  instance  will  suffice  to  illustrate  the  secrets  thus 
revealed.     To  Ludwig  Hain,  Bartolommeo  di  Libri  of 
Florence  is   the  printer  of  four  books.     In  Mr.  Proc- 
tor's Index  he  is  credited  with  no  fewer  than  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-six  in  the  collections  of  the  British 
Museum  and  the  Bodleian  alone,  among  these   being 
the  famous  first  edition  of  Homer  and  some  of  the 
finest  Florentine  illustrated  books.      He  is  thus  raised 


REASON    FOR   THE    COLOPHON  5 

from  obscurity  to  the  front  rank  of  Italian  printers,  an 
example  of  a  man  who,  though  he  did  excellent  work, 
hardly  ever  troubled  himself  to  take  credit  for  it.  In  the 
face  of  such  an  instance  the  partial  nature  of  the  infor- 
mation we  can  gather  from  colophons  is  at  once  plain. 
And  yet  from  this  very  absence  of  Libri's  name  we  glean 
some  really  characteristic  evidence.  For,  to  begin  with, 
the  great  Florentine  Homer  is  not  without  a  colophon. 
On  the  contrary,  it  possesses  this  very  explicit  one : 

T»oi/  ojiitpov  nroiHcri c  o.-q-olo'cl.  cpT* v*crtt[J<|o*et.  -crcpo-c  4\h 
tyi\>  hStm  o-tui  gcu  €^  (^AopE^'T-ict^a-yaLAwM-a.D'J  oa^j'T-qi/  & 
(eyuy  *ci  mfmtaf  ay  S^u^x/i  TT^J  Aofo  vc  <  AAxy  ix.t  vc  carov 
d\xtuy  ftepyaLpV'ov  Kail  pxpiov  tol^cm  V'ocfjov  yepiAio  v  <£Aa  -*» 
p  e  yT  !yo  iy  *  *c*°Va  2^ e  KOUL  ^L t£i o'tht  » VM/utT-pio V  ft-  e2Uo  Act. 
If MKXfrroC Juy  Ao  yiuy  a-p^pup ^a.piV Koi  Ao  Y^f  c^^M|»f 
•coy  €^ic/*.firtt^<a*<lTtt  anDroTiiC^picrov  nyHwrcuc^iAio  #• 
c7oT&po-Koo*ioe;tt  or  a^0HK«q  «  onroca  juipoc  2uxcjt.0piov 

Homer.    Florence:  [B.  Libri,]  1488. 

'H  tov  'Ofxijpov  TTOLr)(TL<s  aTTCLcra  ivTV7T(o0€L(ra  Trepas  €i\r)(f>€v 
77S77  o~vv  Beat  iv  4>Xa>pevria,  dva\(ofxao~L  fiev  to>v  evyev<ov  /cat 
ayaOwv  dvSpcov,  /cat  irepl  \6yovs  eXXtji/iKous  cnrovSaiw,  Bep- 
vdphov  koll  N^piov  TcuxuSos  tov  NepiXiov  <j>\(opevTivoiv  •  ttopo) 
Se  kolI  Se^tan/Tt  ArjfirjTpCov  /aeStoXaveajs  KprjTos,  tgjj/  \oyia>v 
avhpoiv  X(^Plv  KaL  ^o-ywv  eXX^vi/cwy  ifae/Aevcov,  eret  tw  a7ro 
t^9  X^tcrrou  yevvrjcreax;  ^tXtocrra)  TeT/aa/cocrtocrraJ  o-ySan/cooTa) 
6y8ow  p.r)vb<;  AeKe/x/3/nou  eWrr?. 

This  printed  edition  of  all  Homer's  poetry  has  now  come 
to  its  end  by  the  help  of  God  in  Florence,  by  the  outlay  of 


6  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

the  well-born  and  excellent  gentlemen,  enthusiasts  for  Greek 
learning,  Bernardo  and  Nerio,  sons  of  Tanais  Nerli,  two  Floren- 
tines, and  by  the  labor  and  skill  of  Demetrio  of  Milan,  a  Cretan, 
for  the  benefit  of  men  of  letters  and  professors  of  Greek,  in  the 
year  from  Christ's  birth  the  one  thousand  four  hundred  and 
eighty-eighth,  on  the  ninth  day  of  the  month  of  December. 

Here  Demetrio  Damilas,  the  Cretan  of  Milanese  descent, 
is  anxious  enough  to  advertise  himself:  perhaps  all  the 
more  anxious  because  his  name  seems  to  have  been 
suppressed  in  the  case  of  some  previous  Greek  books 
in  which  he  may  have  had  a  share.  He  compliments 
also,  as  in  duty  bound,  the  brothers  Nerli,  without 
whose  munificence  the  book  could  not  have  been  pro- 
duced. But  the  craftsman  at  whose  press  the  Homer 
was  printed  was  too  insignificant  a  person  for  a  scholar 
of  the  very  self-regarding  type  of  the  first  professors  of 
Greek  to  trouble  to  mention  him,  and  thus  Libri  is  ig- 
nored by  Damilas  as  completely  as  the  later  printers 
were  ignored  by  the  publishers.  In  some  of  his  larger 
works  of  a  less  learned  kind, — books  by  Boccaccio,  the 
Florentine  Histories  of  Bruni  and  Poggio,  and  the 
Logic  of  Savonarola, —  Libri,  when  left  to  himself,  was 
at  the  pains  to  print  his  name.  But  in  the  mass  of 
"  Rappresentazioni,"  Savonarola  pamphlets,  and  other 
seemingly  ephemeral  books  which  he  made  attractive 
by  procuring  for  them  delightful  woodcuts,  he  did  not 
take  sufficient  pride  to  claim  the  credit  which  Mr. 
Proctor  after  four  centuries  recovered  for  him.  The 
scribes  who  preceded  the  printers  were  by  no  means 
forward  in  naming  themselves.  Though  not  to  the 
same  extent  as  Libri,  the  early  printers  largely  imitated 
their  reticence.  More  especially  with  vernacular  books 
they  were  careless  of  connecting  themselves,  because 
vernacular  books  were  as  yet  despised.    Hence,  though 


REASON    FOR   THE    COLOPHON  7 

we  shall  have  to  quote  some  in  the  chief  languages  of 
Western  Europe,  the  comparative  rarity  of  vernacular 
colophons.  Hence,  on  the  other  hand,  the  compara- 
tive frequency  of  the  Latin  ones,  which  can  be  culled 
from  all  kinds  of  learned  books,  more  especially  from 
the  laborious  legal  commentaries  which  now  possess  so 
few  attractions  beyond  their  beautiful,  though  crabbedly 
contracted,  typography.  It  is  a  pity,  because  the  Latin 
found  in  colophons  is  often  far  from  classical,  and 
occasionally  so  difficult  that  our  renderings  will  be 
offered  in  fear  and  trembling.  But  it  was  in  Latin 
that  literary  distinction  was  mainly  to  be  won  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  it  was  therefore  with  Latin  books 
that  the  printers  desired  their  names  to  be  associated. 
Colophons,  in  fact,  are  the  sign  and  evidence  of  the 
printer's  pride  in  his  work,  and  this  is  the  main  clue 
we  have  in  seeking  for  them. 


gtntf^Efm  $n  incltta  tniim* 
tejraaafmna^mus  anient* 

mrtprima-gUdofofcafaum 
te-ruifi  tofignanto  ftutuj-Sf  m= 
prrtfiim  rt  fimtunt  /Simo  tint 
jmntcl^u>5nuigflia  fon* 

$i3*aratoaptttoit- 


Breslau  Missal.     Mainz:  P.  Schoeffer,  1483. 


II 


COLOPHONS    AT    MAINZ 


T  was  said  at  the  end  of  our  first 
chapter  that  the  presence  of  a  colo- 
phon in  an  old  book  is  to  be  taken 
as  a  sign  of  its  printer's  pride  in  his 
work.  This  being  so,  it  would  seem 
only  reasonable  to  expect  that  the 
very  earliest  books  of  all,  the  books 
in  which  the  new  art  made  its  first 
appearance  before  the  book-buying  world,  should  be 
found  equipped  with  the  most  communicative  of  colo- 
phons, telling  us  the  story  of  the  struggles  of  the  inven- 
tor, and  expatiating  on  the  greatness  of  his  triumph. 
As  every  one  knows,  the  exact  reverse  of  this  is  the 
case,  and  a  whole  library  of  monographs  and  of  often 
bitterly  controversial  pamphlets  has  been  written  for  the 
lack  of  the  information  which  a  short  paragraph  apiece 
in  three  of  the  newly  printed  books  could  easily  have 
given.    What  was  the  reason  of  this  strange  silence  we 

9 


io  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

are  left  to  guess.  It  will  be  thought  noteworthy,  perhaps, 
that  all  three  of  these  too  reticent  books  are  Latin  Bibles 
— the  42-line  Bible  variously  assigned  to  Gutenberg  and 
to  Fust  and  Schoeffer,  the  3  6-line  Bible  variously  assigned 
to  Gutenberg  and  Pfister,  and  the  48-line  Bible  known 
to  have  proceeded  from  the  press  of  Johann  Mentelin  of 
Strassburg.  It  is  indeed  a  curious  fact,  and  it  is  surprising 
that  the  folly  of  Protestant  controversialists  has  not  leapt 
at  it,  that  not  merely  these  three  but  the  great  majority 
of  Latin  Bibles  printed  before  1475  are  completely  silent 
as  to  their  printers,  place  of  imprint,  and  date.  Of  the 
fourteen  editions  which  in  the  catalogue  of  the  British 
Museum  precede  that  which  Franciscus  de  Hailbrun  and 
Nicolaus  of  Frankfort  printed  at  Venice  in  1475,  only 

Pm  hot  opufaAu}  fiiritu  ae  c6pl&u»et  ad 
cufebiaj  idttiduftne  in  awtatc  (paguntij 
jxr*Jobanne  fiift  aue*et  JSetru  Icboifffcer  & 
gernfbpm  clen  m  fciottf  cwfdej  d>  confix 
tnatsi.  Atino  incarnacois  t)fiicc«  AWccc-lxtj* 
^nwgiliaaflumpcots  gtbfcwgrms  marie. 


Latin  Bible.      Mainz  :   Fust  and  Schoeffer,  1462. 

three  reveal  their  own  origin — those  printed  at  Mainz  by 
Fust  and  Schoeffer  in  1462  and  by  Schoeffer  alone  ten 
years  later,  and  the  edition  of  1 47 1 ,  printed  by  Sweyn- 
heym  and  Pannartz  at  Rome.    On  the  other  hand,  the 


COLOPHONS   AT    MAINZ  n 

three  editions  printed  before  146  2,  as  well  as  those  of  Eg- 
gestein  and  the  "  R-printer  "  at  Strassburg  and  of  Rup- 
pel  and  Richel  at  Basel,  are  all  anonymous.  We  might 
imagine  that  there  was  a  fear  that  the  natural  conserva- 
tism of  the  church  would  look  askance  at  the  new  art,  and 
that  therefore  in  printing  the  Bible  it  was  thought  best  to 
say  nothing  about  it.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  not 
only  in  their  Bibles  that  these  printers  showed  their  reti- 
cence. Gutenberg  never  put  his  name  in  any  book  at  all. 
Bertold  Ruppel  never  dated  one ;  Eggestein  dated  no- 
thing till  1 47 1,  Mentelin  nothing  till  1473,  Richel  no- 
thing till  1474.  Most  of  their  books  are  anonymous. 
When  we  remember  that  Mentelin  was  printing  at  Strass- 
burg, a  city  with  which  Gutenberg  had  many  relations, 
as  early  as  1458,  and  Eggestein  not  long  after;  that  Rup- 
pel was  Gutenberg's  servant  and  Richel  was  Ruppel's 
partner  and  successor,  it  would  almost  seem  as  if  all  this 
reticence  were  part  of  a  distinct  Gutenberg  tradition,  an 
attempt  to  keep  the  new  art  as  secret  as  possible,  either  in 
order  to  lessen  competitors  and  keep  up  prices,  or  (to  take 
another  alternative)  because  some  of  these  printers  may 
have  broken  promises  of  secrecy  imposed  on  them  with 
this  object,  and  were  thus  less  anxious  to  advertise  them- 
selves. 

In  strong  contrast  to  the  almost  furtive  behavior  of 
this  group  of  printers  is  the  insistent  glorification  of  them- 
selves and  the  new  art  by  Johann  Fust  the  goldsmith  and 
Peter  Schoeffer  the  scribe,  his  son-in-law.  The  contrast 
is  so  great  that  it  must  certainly  be  reckoned  with  by 
those  who  hold  that  to  Fust  and  Schoeffer  must  be 
assigned  the  production  of  the  anonymous  42-line  Bible, 
though  in  the  tangled  relations  of  the  Mainz  printers 
about  1454  there  may  have  been  reasons  for  silence  at 
which  we  cannot  guess.  As  printers  in  their  own  names 
the  known  career  of  Fust  and  Schoeffer  begins  with  the 


12  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

publication,  in  1457,  of  the  famous  Psalter  in  which  we 
find  our  first  colophon  : 

Presens  spalmorum  [sic  for  psalmorum]  codex  venustate  capi- 
talium  decoratus  Rubricationibusque  sufficienter  distinctus, 
Adinuentione  artificiosa  imprimendi  ac  caracterizandi  absque 
calami  vlla  exaracione  sic  effigiatus,  Et  ad  eusebiam  dei  Indus- 
trie est  consummates,  Per  Johannem  fust  ciuem  maguntinum, 
Et  Petrum  SchofFer  de  Gernszheim  Anno  domini  Millesimo 
.cccc.lvij  In  vigilia  Assumpcionis. 

The  present  copy  of  the  Psalms,  adorned  with  beauty  of  capital 
letters,  and  sufficiently  marked  out  with  rubrics,  has  been  thus 
fashioned  by  an  ingenious  invention  of  printing  and  stamping 
without  any  driving  of  the  pen,  And  to  the  worship  of  God  has 
been  diligently  brought  to  completion  by  Johann  Fust,  a  citizen 
of  Mainz,  and  Peter  SchofFer  of  Gernsheim,  in  the  year  of  the 
Lord  1457,  on  the  vigil  of  the  Feast  of  the  Assumption. 

A  few  notes  on  some  of  the  words  in  this  colophon  may 
be  offered.  "  Codex,"  which  has  been  paraphrased 
"copy,"  meant  originally  a  collection  of  tablets  waxed 
over  for  writing  on,  and  so  any  book  in  which  the  leaves 
are  placed  one  on  another  instead  of  being  formed  into  a 
roll.  "  Capital  letters"  must  be  understood  of  large  ini- 
tials, not  merely,  as  the  phrase  is  often  used  to  mean, 
majuscules,  or  "upper-case  "  letters.  "Adinventio"  ap- 
pears to  mean  simply  invention,  and  not,  as  with  our 
knowledge  of  stories  of  "  prefigurements  "  of  printing 
in  Holland  afterward  completed  in  Germany  we  might 
be  inclined  to  think,  the  perfecting  of  an  invention.  The 
epithet  "artificiosa"  probably  only  means  skilful,  with- 
out emphasizing  the  contrast  between  the  artificial  meth- 
ods of  printing  as  compared  with  the  natural  use  of  the 
hand.  About  " caracterizandi"  it  is  not  easy  to  feel  quite 
sure.    Does  it  complete  "imprimendi"  by  adding  to  the 


COLOPHONS   AT    MAINZ  13 

idea  of  pressing  the  further  idea  of  the  letter  (/apaxnrjp) 
impressed,  or  is  "  imprimendi  "  already  fully  equivalent 
to  printing,  while  "  caracterizandi  "  refers  to  engraving 
the  letters  on  the  punches  ?  Lastly,  it  may  be  noted  that 
in  calamus,  "reed,"  and  exaratione,  "plowing  up,"  which 
properly  refers  to  the  action  of  the  "stilus"  of  bone  or 
metal  on  the  waxed  surface  of  a  tablet,  we  have  reference 
to  two  different  methods  of  writing,  one  or  other  of 
which  must  necessarily  be  slurred.  Not  all  colophons 
present  so  many  small  linguistic  difficulties  as  this,  but 
few  are  wholly  without  them,  and  many  of  the  render- 
ings which  will  be  offered  in  ensuing  chapters  must  be 
accepted  merely  as  the  best  paraphrases  which  could  be 
attained. 

This  first  colophon  was  repeated  by  Fust  and  Schoeffer 
with  very  slight  alterations  in  the  Psalter  of  1459  (in 
which  were  added  the  words  "et  honorem  sancti  iacobi," 
"and  to  the  honour  of  S.James,"  the  patron  of  the  Bene- 
dictine monastery  at  Mainz,  for  whose  use  the  edition 
was  printed),  in  the  "Durandus"  of  the  same  year,  the 
Clementine  Constitutions  published  in  1460,  and  the 
Bible  of  1462. 

Meanwhile,  in  1460,  there  had  been  published  at 
Mainz  an  edition  of  the  "Catholicon,"  a  Latin  diction- 
ary compiled  by  Joannes  Balbus  of  Genoa,  a  Dominican 
of  the  thirteenth  century.  The  colophon  to  this  book, 
instinct  with  religious  feeling  and  patriotism,  and  interest- 
ing for  its  pride  in  the  new  art  and  use  of  some  technical 
terms,  yet  lacks  the  one  important  piece  of  information 
which  we  demand  from  it — the  name  of  the  printer. 

Altissimi  presidio  cuius  nutu  infantium  lingue  fiunt  diserte, 
Quique  numerosepe  paruulis  reuelat  quod  sapientibus  celat, 
Hie  liber  egregius,  catholicon,  dominice  incarnacionis  annis 
Mcccclx  Alma  in  urbe  maguntina  nacionis  indite  germanice, 


i4  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

Quam  dei  clemencia  tarn  alto  ingenij  lumine,  donoque  gratuito, 
ceteris  terrarum  nacionibus  preferre,  illustrareque  dignatus  est, 
Non  calami,  stili,  aut  penne  suffragio,  sed  mira  patronarum  for- 
marumque  concordia  proporcione  et  modulo,  impressus  atque 
confectus  est. 

Hinc  tibi  sancte  pater  nato  cum  flamine  sacro 
Laus  et  honor  domino  trino  tribuatur  et  uno 
Ecclesie  laude  libro  hoc  catholice  plaude 
Qui  laudare  piam  semper  non  linque  mariam. 
Deo  Gracias. 

/JftifTimi  prefioio  aiius  nutu  mfantium  lingue  ft 
unc  oifcm*Qui  eg  mtofcpc  gituUe  rcuctat*  quoo 
topicntibue  cclAr.ttic  liber  esrcsms.catbob'con. 
Oiiicc  marittrioms  &r\m  OQ  ace  Ix  A\m&  m  ur 
bt  maijimtinA  ruricnio  'mdm  germAntcr.QuAm 
&,  i  riemenoa  tern  alto  bigtzni if  lumine.tono  oj  $ 
tuifu.ceccris  rerrai*  narionibuc  preFem.Hlufrrarc 
03  oign/itws  eft  Aon  cAUmi.fHli.4Ut  porno  fufFttf 

done  et  moculo.impreflTus  atq?  confectus  efK 
bine  tibi  fencfe  pAtvr  nato  ol  flAmmo  facra.lau^ 
et  bono?  Oiio  trino  rribiiArwi  et  uno  Gedofis  Uu 
01  libra  boc  atbolia?  phutt  Qui  Uudaw  piAm 
fcmpernon  linque.mAriam   $€0.<3&/W?,4$ 

Balbus.      Catholicon.     Mainz:  [J.  Gutenberg,]  1460. 

By  the  help  of  the  Most  High,  at  Whose  will  the  tongues  of 
infants  become  eloquent,  and  Who  ofttimes  reveals  to  the 
lowly  that  which  He  hides  from  the  wise,  this  noble  book, 
Catholicon,  in  the  year  of  the  Lord's  Incarnation  1460,  in  the 
bounteous  city  of  Mainz  of  the  renowned  German  nation,  which 
the  clemency  of  God  has  deigned  with  so  lofty  a  light  of  genius 
and  free  gift  to  prefer  and  render  illustrious  above  all  other  na- 
tions of  the  earth,  without  help  of  reed,  stilus,  or  pen,  but  by  the 
wondrous  agreement,  proportion,  and  harmony  of  punches  and 
types,  has  been  printed  and  finished. 


COLOPHONS   AT    MAINZ  15 

Hence  to  Thee,  Holy  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  with  the  Sacred 

Spirit, 
Praise  and  glory  be  rendered,  the  threefold  Lord  and  One; 
For  the  praise  of  the  Church,  O  Catholic,  applaud  this  book, 
Who  never  ceasest  to  praise  the  devout  Mary. 
Thanks  be  to  God. 

In  addition  to  the  "Catholicon,"  the  British  Museum 
possesses  three  books  in  the  same  type,  which  are,  there- 
fore, ascribed  to  the  same  press — a  "  Tractatus  racionis  et 
conscientiae"  of  Matthew  of  Cracow,  and  two  editions 
of  the  "  Summa  de  articulis  fidei"  of  S.  Thomas  Aqui- 
nas ;  but  these,  perhaps  because  they  are  only  little  books, 
have  no  printer's  colophon.  On  November  4,  1467,  a 
Latin-German  vocabulary  known  as  the  "  Vocabularius 
Ex  Quo"  was  finished  at  Eltville,  near  Mainz, by  Nico- 
laus  Bechtermiinze  and  Wigandus  Spiess  of  Ortenberg, 
having  been  begun  by  Heinrich  Bechtermiinze,  brother 
of  Nicolaus.  It  is  printed  in  the  same  type  as  the 
"  Catholicon,"  reinforced  by  some  slight  additions,  and 
it  is  noteworthy  (as  illustrating  what  we  may  call  the  he- 
reditary or  genealogical  feature  which  runs  through 
many  colophons)  that  in  taking  over  the  type  used  in 
the  "  Catholicon,"  part  of  the  wording  of  its  colophon 
was  taken  over  also,  though  a  few  words  appear  to  be 
borrowed  from  Fust  and  SchoefFer.  To  show  this  we 
may  quote  the  colophon  to  the  1467  "Vocabularius" 
as  transcribed  by  Mr.  Hessels  ("Gutenberg:  was  he  the 
inventor  of  printing?"  p.  141)  : 

Presens  hoc  opusculum  non  stili  aut  penne  suffragio  sed  noua 
artificiosaque  invencione  quadam  ad  eusebiam  dei  industrie 
per  henricum  bechtermuncze  pie  memorie  in  altauilla  est  in- 
choatum  et  demum  sub  anno  domini  M.cccc.l.xvij  ipso  die 
leonardi  confessoris,  qui  fuit  quarta  die  mensis  nouembris,  per 
nycolaum  bechtermuncze  fratrem  dicti  henrici  et  wygandum 
spyesz  de  orthenberg  est  consummatum. 


16  AN    ESSAY   ON   COLOPHONS 

Hinc  tibi  sancte  pater  nato  cum  flamine  sacro 
Laus  et  honor  domino  trino  tribuatur  et  uno: 
Qui  laudare  piam  semper  non  linque  mariam. 

This  present  little  work,  not  by  the  help  of  stilus  or  pen,  but 
by  a  certain  new  and  skilful  invention  to  the  worship  of  God, 
was  diligently  begun  at  Eltville  by  Heinrich  Bechtermunze  of 
pious  memory,  and  at  last,  in  the  year  of  the  Lord  1467,  on 
the  day  of  Leonard  the  Confessor,  which  was  on  the  fourth  day 
of  the  month  of  November,  by  Nicolaus  Bechtermunze,  brother 
of  the  said  Heinrich,  and  Wigandus  Spiess  of  Orthenberg,  was 
brought  to  completion. 

Hence  to  Thee,  Holy  Father,  and  to  the  Son,  with  the  Sacred 

Spirit, 
Praise  and  glory  be  rendered,  the  threefold  Lord  and  One. 
O  thou  who  never  ceasest  to  praise  the  devout  Mary. 

The  omission  of  the  third  line  of  the  "Catholicon" 
quatrain,  obviously  because  the  word  "Catholice"  no 
longer  had  especial  import,  makes  the  construction  even 
more  mysterious  than  in  the  original,  nor  is  this  the  only 
instance  we  shall  find  of  such  mauling. 

While  the  Eltville  colophon  thus  mainly  takes  its 
phrasing  from  that  of  the  "Catholicon,"  with  a  few 
words  from  Fust  and  SchoefFer's  thrown  in,  the  latter 
firm  were  themselves  not  above  borrowing  a  happy 
phrase,  since  in  the  "Liber  Sextus  Decretalium  Boni- 
facii  VIII"  not  only  do  we  find  an  antithesis  introduced 
to  the  "  artificiosa  adinuentio,"  but  in  some  copies,  if 
Maittaire  is  to  be  trusted,  the  praise  of  Mainz  is  bodily 
taken  over,  so  that  the  full  colophon  now  reads : 

Presens  huius  Sexti  Decretalium  preclarum  opus  alma  in  urbe 
Maguntina  inclyte  nacionis  germanice,  quam  dei  clemencia  tarn 
alti  ingenii  lumine  donoque  gratuito  ceteris  terrarum  nacionibus 
preferre  illustrareque  dignatus  est,  non  atramento  plumali  canna 


COLOPHONS   AT    MAINZ  17 

neque  aerea,  sed  artificiosa  quadam  adinuentione  imprimendi 
seu  caracterizandi  sic  effigiatum  et  ad  eusebiam  dei  Industrie  est 
consummatum  per  Iohannem  Fust  ciuem  et  Petrum  Schoiffher 
de  Gernsheim.  Anno  domini  M.cccclxv.  die  uero  xvii  men- 
sis  Decembris. 

The  present  splendid  edition  of  this  sixth  book  of  Decretals, 
in  the  bounteous  city  of  Mainz  of  the  renowned  German  nation, 
which  the  clemency  of  God  has  deigned  with  so  lofty  a  light  of 
genius  and  free  gift  to  prefer  and  render  illustrious  above  all 
other  nations  of  the  earth,  has  been  thus  fashioned  not  by  ink 
for  the  pen  nor  by  a  reed  of  brass,  but  by  a  certain  ingenious  in- 
vention of  printing  or  stamping,  and  to  the  worship  of  God  dili- 
gently brought  to  completion  by  Johann  Fust,  a  citizen  of  Mainz, 
and  Peter  Schoiffher  of  Gernsheim, in  the  yearof  the  Lord  1465, 
and  on  the  17th  day  of  December. 

By  this  time  even  a  patient  reader  may  well  be  weary 
with  this  ringing  of  the  changes  on  the  two  colophons 
first  printed,  respectively,  in  1457  and  1460.  But,  with- 
out pushing  the  suggestion  too  far,  we  may  at  least  hazard 
a  guess  as  to  how  they  came  thus  to  be  amalgamated  in 
December,  1465.  For  it  was  in  this  year  that  Guten- 
berg, who,  when  all  is  said,  is  the  most  probable  printer 
for  the  "Catholicon"  and  the  other  books  which  go 
with  it, became  a  pensioner  of  Adolph  II,  Archbishop  of 
Mainz,  and  presumably  gave  up  printing.  The  two  small 
books  in  the  "Catholicon"  type  (i.e.  the  "Tractatus 
racionis  et  conscientiae"  and  the  "De  articulis  fidei") 
appear  in  Schoeffer's  catalogue  of  1469—70.  Whether 
he  bought  the  stock  of  them  as  early  as  1465  cannot  be 
proved,  but  it  would  seem  reasonable  to  connect  his 
taking  over  the  "Catholicon"  colophon  in  that  year 
with  the  disappearance  of  Gutenberg  from  any  kind  of 
rivalry.  As  between  printers  in  different  cities,  there  was 
certainly  no  copyright  in  colophons  any  more  than  there 


18  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

was  in  books.  We  shall  see  presently  how,  when  books 
of  SchoefFer's  were  reprinted  at  Nuremberg  and  Basel, 
his  colophons,  with  slight  alterations,  were  taken  over 
with  them.  But  in  Germany  at  this  time,  between  citi- 
zens of  the  same  town,  trade  rights,  I  fancy,  were  much 
more  respected  than  at  Venice,  for  instance,  or  at  Paris, 
where  the  editions  of  Caesaris  and  Stoll  were  impu- 
dently pirated  by  two  other  firms  in  the  very  same  street. 
At  all  events,  it  is  worth  noticing  that  the  "  Catholicon" 
printer's  colophon  seems  to  have  been  taken  over  by 
Schoeffer,  who  bought  some  of  his  stock,  and  by  the 
brothers  Bechtermiinze,  who  had  the  use  of  his  types. 

Passing  now  to  other  of  Schoeffer's  colophons,  we  find 
in  the  edition  of  the  "Officia  et  Paradoxa"  of  Cicero  of 
this  same  year,  1465,  a  more  personal  form  of  the  colo- 
phon, which  gives  us  an  explicit  statement  that  Fust,  the 
capitalist  of  the  business,  probably  owing  to  failing  health, 
now  left  the  actual  superintendence  of  the  printing  to 
his  son-in-law  Schoeffer,  the  quondam  scribe.     It  runs  : 

Prdcn*  AVarct  tub)  clanflinm  opus  -"Jo* 
banner  fiift  Moguttmid  ciuu>*no  anamc* 
tD'plumalt  etna  neqj  acrea^cd  arte  qua? 
Dam  pcrpulcra*  (Sctri  mami  pucrimet  kiu 
dtcr  effect  finitum*  Anno*M«cccc*  fcv* 

Cicero.     De  Officiis.    Mainz:  Fust  and  Schoeffer,  1465. 


"  Presens  Marci  tulii  clarissimum  opus  Iohannes  Fust 
Moguntinus  ciuis,  non  atramento  plumali,  canna  neque 
aerea,  sed  arte  quadam  perpulcra,  Petri  manu  pueri  mei 
feliciter  effeci  finitum,  Anno  1465."  This  statement,  that 


COLOPHONS   AT    MAINZ  19 

"  I,  Johann  Fust,  citizen  of  Mainz,  completed  the  book 
by  the  labor  or  instrumentality  (manu)of  myson  Peter," 
was  repeated  in  the  reprint  of  February  4,  1466,  and 
thenceforth  the  name  of  Fust  disappears  from  the  annals 
of  printing. 

In  1467  we  find  the  colophon  attributed  by  Maittaire 
to  some  copies  of  the  "Sextus  Decretalium"  repeated 
(with  the  omission  of  Fust's  name)  in  the  "  Secunda  Se- 
cundae  "  of  S.  Thomas  Aquinas  and  the  second  edition  of 
the  Clementine  Constitutions,  and  this  became  for  some 
time  SchoefFer's  normal  colophon.  In  1 470,  however,  he 
varied  it  in  his  edition  of  S.  Jerome's  Epistles  in  order 
to  introduce  a  compliment  paid  by  the  saint  to  the  city 
of  Mainz,  which  made  it  peculiarly  appropriate  that  his 
work  should  be  popularized  by  a  Mainz  printer.  This 
colophon  runs : 

[I]gitur  Sophronii  Eusebii  Ieronimi  orthodoxi,  Ecclesie  Christi 
propugnatoris  clarissimi,  Liber  Ieronimianus,  aut  si  mauis,  quod 
et  ipse  velim,  Liber  Epistolaris  explicit,  ut  dignitas  nominis 
Ieronimiani  egregio  viro  Johanni  Andree  permaneat,  qui  hoc 
ipsum  zelo  deuotionis  erga  virum  sanctum  affectus  tempore 
prisco  vulgauit  in  orbem.  Est  autem  presens  opus  arte  impres- 
soria  feliciter  consummatum  per  Petrum  schoifFer  de  Gerns- 
shem  in  ciuitate  nobili  Moguntina.  Cuius  nobilitati  vir  beatus 
Ieronimus  scribens  ad  Agerutiam  de  monogamia  testimonium 
perhibet  sempiternum  multis  milibus  incolarum  eiusdem  in  ec- 
clesia  pro  fide  catholica  sanguine  proprio  laureatis. 

Huic  laudatori  reddit  moguntia  vicem, 
Tot  sua  scripta  parans  usibus  ecclesie. 

Anno  domini  M.cccc.lxx.  Dieseptima  mensis  septembris  que 
fuit  vigilia  natiuitatis  Marie.    Da  gloriam  Deo. 


£>itur  ^opbronii  €ufcbij  ~J  eronimi  Ottfcoto* 
xi€cddw  jcpijpugnatozie  clarifRtiii  iLifccr^csr 
roniimamts  aut  it  maws  q6  et  ipevdim  ttfccr 
epfaris  cxpUaMit  bifrmtas  nomislcroninnV 
^3«i  £g  recgio  viro'Jofii  Andree  pmaneat*  qui 
foocipm  *clo  irtiofeonis  crga  wufencKi  affe* 
cirue  *  tpc  pi-i  fco  vulgamt  m  o?be .  £11  aut  piis 
opus  arte  mipflbiia  felidter  ofumatu  per  P  ctrfi 
fch>iffcr  Je  jjernfbem  hi  duitatc  n  obilt  0)ogti^ 
tina*  Cuius  11  obilitati  vir  bnis~]  cronimus  fcri^ 
bes  ad^gcrutia  te  monog-amia  teftttnotriu  per* 
bite  fern  pitcrnii*  multie  mi  lib?  tncola^  eotfcl  c 
111  ccSa  $  fide  catboitca  fancf n ejprio  laurcanf. 
iOuic  laudatoti.rcddkmogtintta  viccm 
Cot  (ti  a  fenpta  parae  vfibus  ecdelic. 
Anno  tomim*  (>)<ccc4)cp  6ie  repttmamenfi* 
feptSbrio  qucfiiitvigtfia  nimuttatie  Mane* 
Aaglonam&o. 


S.  Jerome's  Epistles.    Mainz:   P.  Schoeffer,  1470. 


COLOPHONS   AT    MAINZ  21 

Thus  of  Sophronius  Eusebius  Hieronimus  [/.  e.>  S.  Jerome], 
the  Orthodox,  the  most  renowned  champion  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  there  comes  to  an  end  the  book  called  after  him  Hie- 
ronominian,  or  if  you  prefer  it  the  Book  of  his  Epistles,  the 
title  I  myself  should  wish  to  give  it  in  order  that  the  honor  of 
the  title  Hieronimian  may  be  reserved  for  the  illustrious  Jo- 
hannes Andreae,  who  in  olden  time  published  to  the  world  this 
very  work  from  the  zeal  of  his  devotion  to  the  holy  man. 
Now  the  present  work  by  the  printing  art  has  been  happily 
brought  to  completion  by  Peter  SchoifFer  of  Gernsheim  in  the 
noble  city  of  Mainz,  as  to  whose  nobility  the  blessed  man  Je- 
rome, writing  to  Agerutia  concerning  monogamy,  bears  eternal 
witness  to  the  many  thousands  of  its  inhabitants  who  with  their 
own  blood  have  won  crowns  of  laurel  in  the  church  for  the  catho- 
lic faith. 

Printing  the  words  of  him  who  gave  this  praise, 
Mainz  helps  the  church  the  while  her  debt  she  pays. 

In  the  year  of  the  Lord  1470,  on  the  seventh  day  of  September, 
which  was  the  vigil  of  the  Nativity  of  Mary.  Give  glory  to  God. 

In  1 472, in  the"DecretumGratiani  cum  glossis,"weget 
another  variant  and  an  addition  of  some  importance: 

Anno  incarnationis  dominice  1472  idibus  Augustiis,  sanctissimo 
in  Christo  patre  ac  domino  domino  Sixto  papa  quarto  pontifice 
maximo  illustrissimo,  nobilissime  domus  austrie  Friderico,  Ro- 
manorum  rege  gloriosissimo,  rerum  dominis,  Nobili  nee  non 
generoso  Adolpho  de  Nassau  archiepiscopatum  gerente  magun- 
tinensem,  in  nobili  urbe  Moguntiaquenostros  apudmaiores  Au- 
rea  dicta,  quam  diuina  etiam  dementia  dono  gratuito  pre  ceteris 
terrarum  nationibus  arte  impressoria  dignata  est  illustrare,  hoc 
presens  Gratiani  decretum  suis  cum  rubricis,  non  atramentali 
penna  cannaue,  sed  arte  quadam  ingeniosa  imprimendi,  cuncti- 
potente  adspiranti  deo,  Petrus  Schoiffer  de  Gernsheym  suis  con- 
signando  scutis  feliciter  consummauit. 


22  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

A  similar  colophon  was  used  in  the  "  Nova  compilatio 
Decretalium  Gregorii  IX"  of  1473,  anc*  tne  phrase 
"suis  consignando  scutis  "  occurs  again  in  Schoeffer's 
edition  of  S.  Bernard's  Sermons  (1475)  and  in  several 
books  of  the  three  following  years.  In  1479,  in  an  edi- 
tion of  the  "Decretals  of  Gregory  IX,"  the  phrase  is  va- 
ried to  "cuius  armis  signantur,"  after  which  Panzer  re- 
cords it  no  more.  This  first  mention  of  the  shields  has 
for  us  far  more  interest  than  the  pompous  recital  of  how 
Sixtus  IV  was  pope,  and  Frederick  of  Austria  king  of  the 
Romans,  and  Adolph  of  Nassau  archbishop  of  Mainz 
when  this  "  Decretal  of  Gratian  "  was  printed  "  in  the 
noble  city  of  Mainz,  which  our  ancestors  used  to  call  the 
golden  city,  and  which  has  been  so  highly  favored  by 
its  preeminence  in  printing."  Needless  discussions  have 
been  raised  as  to  what  was  the  use  and  import  of  printers' 
devices,  and  it  has  even  been  attempted  to  connect  them 
with  literary  copyright,  with  which  they  had  nothing 
whatever  to  do,  literary  copyright  in  this  decade  depend- 
ing solely  on  the  precarious  courtesy  of  rival  firms,  or 
possibly  on  the  rules  of  their  trade-guilds.  But  here, 
on  the  authority  of  the  printer  who  first  used  one,  we 
have  a  clear  indication  of  the  reason  which  made  him 
put  his  mark  in  a  book — the  simple  reason  that  he  was 
proud  of  his  craftsmanship  and  wished  it  to  be  recognized 
as  his.  "By  signing  it  with  his  shields  Peter  Schoiffer 
has  brought  the  book  to  a  happy  completion."  When 
Wenssler  of  Basel  copied  Schoeffer's  books,  he  copied 
him  also  in  affixing  their  marks  and  in  drawing  attention 
to  them  in  the  same  way.  Wenssler,  too,  was  a  good 
printer,  and  though  he  was  certainly  not  claiming  copy- 
right in  books  which  he  was  simply  reprinting,  he  was 
equally  anxious  to  have  his  handiwork  recognized. 

If  yet  further  evidence  be  wanted,  we  can  find  it  in 
the  colophon  to  Schoeffer's  1477  edition  of  the  "Tituli 


COLOPHONS   AT    MAINZ  23 

Decisionum  antiquarum  et  nouarum,"  which  reads  as 
follows : 

Anno  domini  M.cccc.lxxvij.  pridie  nonis  Ianuariis  graui  labore 
maximisque  impensis  Romanam  post  impressionem  opus  iterum 
emendatum :  antiquarum  nouarumque  decisionum  suis  cum  ad- 
ditionibus  dominorum  de  Rota:  In  ciuitate  Maguntina  impres- 
sorie  artis  inuentrice  elimatriceque  prima  Petrus  Schoyffer  de 
Gernssheym  suis  consignando  scutis  arte  magistra;  feliciter  finit. 

Some  other  features  which  occur  in  the  wording  of  this 
will  be  noted  later  on.  For  our  present  purpose  it  is  of 
interest  to  find  the  mark  of  the  shields  attached  to  a  book 
which  is  distinctly  stated  to  have  been  printed  "  Romanam 
post  impressionem,"  "after  the  edition  printed  at  Rome," 
and  for  which,  therefore,  no  literary  copyright  is  con- 
ceivable. 

In  the  1473  reprmt  of  the  "Sextus  Decretalium  "  we 
note  that  SchoefFer  now  considered  himself  venerable,  or 
perhaps  it  would  be  fairer  to  say  "worshipful"  ("per  ve- 
nerandum  virum  Petrum  schoiffer  de  Gernshem  feliciter 
est  consummatum"),  but  in  his  edition  of  S.  Augustine's 
"De  Ciuitate  Dei,"  of  the  same  year,  we  find  a  more  im- 
portant variant.   This  reads : 

Igitur  Aurelii  Augustini  ciuitatis  orthodoxe  sideris  prefulgidi 
de  ciuitate  Dei  opus  preclarissimum,  binis  sacre  pagine  profes- 
soribus  eximiis  id  commentantibus  rubricis  tabulaque  discretum 
precelsa  in  urbe  moguntina  partium  Alemanie,  non  calami  per 
frasim,  caracterum  autem  apicibus  artificiose  elementatum,  ad 
laudem  Trinitatis  indiuidue,  ciuitatis  dei  presidis,  operose  est 
consummatum  per  Petrum  schoirTer  de  gernsheim.  Anno 
domini  M.cccc.lxxiij.  die  v.  mensis  septembris.  Presidibus  ec- 
clesie  catholice  Sixto  tercio  pontifice  summo  Sedi  autem  mo- 
guntine  Adolfo  secundo  presule  magnifico.  Tenente  autem  ac 
gubernante  Christianismi  monarchiam  Imperatore  serenissimo 
Frederico  tercio  Cesare  semper  augusto. 


24  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

Thus  the  most  renowned  work  of  Aurelius  Augustinus,  a  shin- 
ing star  of  the  city  of  orthodoxy,  the  De  Ciuitate  Dei,  with  the 
notes  of  two  distinguished  professors  of  Biblical  Theology,  set 
out  with  rubrics  and  index,  in  the  exalted  city  of  Mainz  of  the 
parts  of  Germany,  not  by  the  inditing  of  a  reed,  but  skilfully  put 
together  from  the  tips  of  characters,  to  the  praise  of  the  undivided 
Trinity,  ruler  of  the  City  of  God,  has  been  toilfully  brought  to 
completion  by  Peter  Schoiffer  of  Gernsheim,  in  the  year  of  the 
Lord  1473,  on  the  fifth  day  of  the  month  of  September,  the 
catholic  church  being  under  the  rule  of  Sixtus  III  as  supreme 
pontiff,  and  the  see  of  Mainz  under  that  of  the  magnificent  patron 
Adolf  II,  while  the  most  serene  Emperor  Frederick  III,  Caesar 
Augustus,  held  and  guided  the  monarchy  of  Christendom. 

The  struggles  of  the  fifteenth-century  Latinists  to  express 
the  technicalities  of  printing  are  always  interesting,  and 
the  phrase  "caracterum  apicibus  elementatum"  is  really 
gallant.  Following  the  Greek  orot/sca,  the  Romans 
used  the  word  "elementa"  originally  for  the  component 
sounds  of  speech  and  then,  by  transference,  for  the  letters 
of  the  alphabet.  "Elementatum,"  therefore,  is  strictly 
appropriate,  and  might  be  rendered  "  with  the  letters  built 
up  or  put  together,"  while  "caracterum  apicibus"  of 
course  refers  to  the  engraving  in  relief  which  forms  the 
face  of  the  type. 

In  1475,  perhaps  as  an  echo  of  some  verses  in  the 
"Noua  compilatio  Decretalium  Gregorii  IX"  of  1473, 
we  find  a  new  phrase  tacked  on  to  the  "arte  impressoria" 
in  an  edition  of  Justinian,  noting  the  fact  that  though 
Providence  did  not  consider  antiquity  worthy  of  the  art, 
it  had  been  granted  to  our  times  ("qua  quidem  etsi  anti- 
quitas  diuino  non  digna  est  visa  indicio,  nostra  nichilo- 
minus  tempestate  indulta").  In  1476  again  SchoefFer 
advertises  that  his  edition  of  Justinian's  Institutes  was 
printed  "in  the  noble  city  of  Mainz  am  Rhein,the  inven- 
tress  and  first  perfectress  of  the  printing  art"  ("In  nobili 


COLOPHONS   AT   MAINZ  25 

urbe  Maguncia  Rheni,  impressorie  artis  inuentrice  elima- 
triceque  prima"),  while  in  the  Clementine  Constitutions 
of  the  same  year  he  substitutes  "alumnaque"  for  "  elima- 
triceque,"  presumably  in  the  sense  of  pupil  or  practiser, 
reverting  subsequently  to  "  elimatrice."  In  1 478  he  once 
more  varies  the  praises  of  Mainz  by  calling  her  "domici- 
lium  Minerve  nrmissimum,"  "  the  most  stable  home  of 
Minerva."  With  this  year  147 8,  which  closes  the  period 
of  Schoeffer's  chief  activity,  we  may  bring  our  survey  of 
his  colophons  to  an  end.  Thereafter  he  printed  more 
intermittently,  and,  if  the  absence  of  colophons  may  be 
trusted,  as  I  think  it  may,  with  less  interest  in  his  work. 
But  during  these  twenty-two  years  from  1457  to  J47^> 
inclusive,  he  had  made  his  books  bear  continual  testimony 
to  one  great  fact,  that  the  art  of  printing  had  been  invented 
and  brought  to  perfection  in  Germany,  in  the  city  of 
Mainz;  and  in  any  weighing  of  the  comparative  claims 
that  have  been  advanced  on  behalf  of  Germany  and  Hol- 
land, I  think  that  the  evidence  of  Schoeffer's  colophons 
alone  would  suffice  to  give  the  priority  to  Germany  and 
Mainz. 

Of  the  clearness  and  energy  of  the  claim  made  in 
these  Mainz  colophons,  we  have  already  given  abun- 
dant illustration,  nor  can  there  be  any  doubt  that  it 
obtained  wide  publicity.  Schoeffer  printed  at  least  one 
advertisement  of  his  books,  and  he  had  an  agency  for  their 
sale  in  Paris.  Besides  this,  his  editions  were  copied  by 
other  printers.  So  far  as  publicity  could  be  insured  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  it  was  insured  by  Schoeffer,  aided  by 
the  printer  of  the  "  Catholicon,"  for  the  statement  that 
printing  was  invented  at  Mainz;  and  despite  the  rivalry 
between  city  and  city,  and  between  country  and  country, 
during  all  the  years  that  this  assertion  was  being  repeated 
in  one  colophon  after  another,  no  printer  in  any  other 
book  ventured  to  challenge  it.    No  doubt  there  are  facts 


26  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

on  the  side  of  Holland  which  have  to  be  explained  as 
best  we  may,  but  in  the  face  of  these  Mainz  colophons 
the  explanation  must  be  of  such  a  kind  as  to  leave  un- 
disputed the  fact  that  it  was  at  Mainz  that  printing  with 
movable  types — "mira  patronarum  formarumque  Con- 
cordia proporcione  et  modulo" — first  became  a  practi- 
cable art.  On  the  other  hand,  as  to  the  individual  in- 
ventor of  this  art  the  fifteenth-century  colophons  are 
absolutely  silent.  There  is  nothing  in  any  Mainz  colo- 
phon answering  to  the  boast  of  John  of  Speier  at  Venice, 
"primus  in  Adriaca  formis  impressit  aenis,"by  which  he 
asserted  his  individual  priority  over  any  other  firm.  The 
only  statement  of  the  kind  is  in  the  extraordinarily 
crabbed  verses  added  by  the  corrector  Magister  Francis- 
cus,  after  the  colophon,  to  the  "  Institutiones  Justin- 
iani"  of  1468,  and  reprinted  in  that  of  1472,  and  in  the 
Decretals  of  1473,  ^ut  omitted  in  1476.  This  states  that 
two  Johns,  both  of  whom  the  town  of  Mainz  produced 
(genuit),  were  the  renowned  first  stampers  of  books 
(librorum  insignes  protocaragmaticos),  and  that  with 
them  was  associated  a  Peter;  and  the  natural  interpreta- 
tion of  these  allusions  identifies  the  "  protocaragmatici " 
(though  the  "proto"  may  refer  to  preeminence  quite 
as  well  as  to  priority)  with  Johann  Gutenberg,  Johann 
Fust,  and  Peter  SchoerTer. 

So  far  as  they  are  intelligible,  therefore,  these  verses  in 
the  Institutes  of  Justinian  confirm  and  extend  the  evi- 
dence of  the  colophons,  and  may  be  cheerfully  accepted. 
Our  last  colophon  in  this  chapter  is  not  quite  in  the  same 
case.  This  famous  and  ingeniously  arranged  addendum 
to  the  edition  of  the  "  Compendium  de  Origine  regum 
et  gentis  Francorum"  of  Johann  Tritheim,  printed  by 
Johann  SchoefFer  at  Mainz  in  151 5,  is  shown  as  one  of 
our  illustrations,  but  may  nevertheless  be  transcribed 
here  for  the  sake  of  expanding  its  contractions: 


«E  IMPRESSVM  ET  COMPLETVM  EST  PRESENS 

dironicarumopus^annodni*  M  D  XVa'n  uigilia  Marga 

rctae uirginis*    In  nobili  famofaqj urbcMo£iintina,hiu 

ius  aro's  impreffbrfe  inucntricc prima*Per  IO  ANNEM 

SchofFei-^icpotequodahoncmuirilOANNISfufth 

ciuis Moguntifi^mcmoratc  artis  piimairi  aucflor is 

Qui  tande  imprimc  nd  i  arte  proprio  ingento  ex? 

cogitarc  Ipeculariq;  coepit  ano  dfii'cg  natiuitaf is 

M  CCCC  .UindidioeXlE  Rcgnanteillu 

flriflimoRoampcracoreFREDERICO 

IILPr  efidente  fanefbe  MogUntinae  fedi 

Rcucrcdiffim o  in  chfo  pre  domino 

THEODERICOpincernadeEr* 

pachpricipe  eleclore  Anno  aut 

MXXCCXmrxrfecitdeditf 

xitt£ea(diuinafauente  gra 

tia)  in  opus  inprimedi 

(Opera  tnacmultis 

neceilarrj  s  adin  ? 

uentionibus 

PETRI 
Schoffcrde 
Gernshciminfc 
ftri  u*  iiq$  filn  adoptiV 
uQCui  ctiam  tiliam  foam 
CHRISTINAM  fufthin  p 
digna  laboru  mul  tamq?  adinueV 
t  ionu  remuner  arioe  nupeui  dedit  .Re? 
tinerut  auchrj  duo  iaprOTominatilOANNES 
fufth&PETRVS  SchofferhScaitemifeacto(omfc 
bus  miniftris  ac  familiaribus  coi^nc  ilia  quo^modo  main" 
feftaret,iureiurado  aftruftis)  Quo  fande  de  ano  dniMCCCC 
LXlIgeofdem  familiarcsldiucrfas  terras  ,puinciasdiuulgata 
haud  par  urn  fumpfit  IcrcmcncumA 

CVM  GRATIA  ET  PRIVILEGIO  CAESAREE  MADE* 

ftau'siuiTu&ipenfishoncftilOANNrSHafclpcrgcx  Aia  maiore 
Conftantiendiocciis/** 


Tritheim.     Chronicarum  opus.     Mainz:  Joh.  SchoefFer,  i  5  15.     (Reduced.) 


28  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Impressum  et  completum  est  presens  chronicarum  opus,  anno 
domini  MDXV.  in  uigilia  Margaretae  uirginis.  In  nobili  fa- 
mosaque  urbe  Moguntina,  huius  artis  impressorie.  inuentrice 
prima.  Per  Ioannem  Schoffer,  nepotem  quondam  honesti  uiri 
Ioannis  Fusth,  ciuis  Moguntini,  memorate  artis  primarii  auc- 
toris.  Qui  tandem  imprimendi  artem  proprio  ingenio  excogitare 
specularique  coepit  anno  dominice  natiuitatis  M.CCCC.L.  in- 
dictione  XIII.  Regnante  illustrissimo  Romanorum  imperatore 
Frederico  III,  praesidente  sanctae  Moguntinae  sedi  Reueren- 
dissimo  in  Christo  patre  domino  Theoderico  pincerna  de  Er- 
pach,  principe  electore.  Anno  autem  M.CCCC.LII.  perfecit 
deduxitqueeam(diuinafauente  gratia)  in  opus  imprimendi,  opera 
tamen  ac  multis  necessariis  adinuentionibus  Petri  Schoffer  de 
Gernsheim  ministri  suique  filii  adoptiui,  cui  etiam  filiam  suam 
Christinam  Fusthinn,  pro  digna  laborum  multarumque  adin- 
uentionum  remuneratione  nuptui  dedit.  Retinuerunt  autem 
hii  duo  iam  praenominati,  Ioannes  Fusth  et  Petrus  Schoffer, 
hanc  artem  in  secreto  (omnibus  ministris  ac  familiaribus  eorum, 
ne  illam  quoquo  modo  manifestarent,  iureiurando  astrictis) 
Quo  tandem  de  anno  domini  M.CCCCLXII  per  eosdem  fa- 
miliares  in  diuersas  terrarum  prouincias  diuulgata  haud  parum 
sumpsit  incrementum. 

Cum  gratia  et  priuilegio  Caesaree  Maiestatis  iussu  et  impen- 
sis  honesti  Ioannis  Haselperg  ex  Aia  maiore  Constantiensis 
dioecesis. 

This  may  be  rendered  : 

The  present  historical  work  has  been  printed  and  completed  in 
the  year  of  the  Lord  151 5,  on  the  vigil  of  Margaret,  virgin, 
in  the  noble  and  famous  city  of  Mainz,  first  inventress  of  this 
printing  art,  by  John  Schoffer,  grandson  of  a  late  worthy  man, 
John  Fust,  citizen  of  Mainz,  foremost  author  of  the  said  art, 
who  in  due  course  by  his  own  genius  began  to  think  out  and 
investigate  the  art  of  printing  in  the  year  of  the  Lord's  nativity 
1450,  in  the  thirteenth  indiction,  in  the  reign  of  the  most  illus- 
trious Emperor  of  the  Romans  Frederick  III,  and  when  the 
most  reverend  father  in  Christ,  Theoderic  the  cup-bearer,  of 


COLOPHONS   AT    MAINZ  29 

Erbach,  prince-elector,  was  presiding  over  the  sacred  see  of 
Mainz,  And  in  the  year  1452  perfected  and  by  the  favor  of  di- 
vine grace  brought  it  to  the  work  of  printing,  by  the  help,  how- 
ever, and  with  many  necessary  inventions1  of  Peter  SchofFer  of 
Gernsheim,  his  workman  and  adoptive  son,  to  whom  also  he 
gave  his  daughter  Christina  Fust  in  marriage  as  a  worthy  reward 
of  his  labors  and  many  inventions.1  And  these  two  already 
named,  Ioannes  Fust  and  Peter  SchofFer,  kept  this  art  secret, 
all  their  workmen  and  servants  being  bound  by  an  oath  not  in 
any  way  to  reveal  it;  but  at  last,  from  the  year  of  the  Lord  1462, 
through  these  same  servants  being  spread  abroad  into  divers 
parts  of  the  world,  it  received  no  small  increase. 

With  the  favor  and  privilege  of  the  Imperial  Majesty  and 
at  the  command  and  expense  of  the  worthy  John  Haselperg  of 
Reichenau  of  the  diocese  of  Constance. 

It  would  be  too  much  to  call  this  colophon  untruthful, 
inasmuch  as  the  term  "primarius  auctor,"  like  "pro- 
tocaragmaticus,,>  does  not  necessarily  claim  primacy  in 
point  of  time;  nevertheless,  it  certainly  suggests  this 
primacy  and  generally  assigns  to  Fust  a  more  decisive 
part  than  we  can  easily  believe  that  he  played.  We  need 
not  censure  too  hardly  John  Schoeffer's  family  feeling, 
even  though  it  led  him  to  ignore  Gutenberg  in  a  way 
which  earlier  testimony  forbids  us  to  believe  to  be  just ; 
but  it  seems  evident  that  family  feeling  was  so  much  to 
the  fore  as  to  place  this  long  historical  colophon  on  quite 
a  different  footing  from  that  of  the  earlier  ones  written  by 
Schoeffer  himself. 

1  Adinuentionibus.      The   preposi-  But  as  it  may  have  been  suggested  by 

tion  was  probably  here  intended  to  be  the  "  adinuentione  "  of  the  Psalter  of 

pressed,  giving  the  meaning  of  "  addi-  1457,  I  keep  the  same  translation, 
tional  inventions"  or  improvements. 


Ill 


COLOPHONS   AT   VENICE 


'HILE  to  Mainz  belongs  the  su- 
preme credit  of  having  brought 
printing  to  the  position  of  a 
practical  art,  the  city  in  which  it 
attained  its  highest  perfection  and 
popularity  in  the  fifteenth  century 
was  undoubtedly  Venice.  The 
output  from  the  Venetian  presses 
represented  some  forty  per  cent,  of  the  entire  book  pro- 
duction of  Italy,  and  its  quality  was  at  least  as  remark- 
able as  its  quantity.  It  is  natural,  therefore,  to  turn  from 
Mainz  to  Venice  in  our  quest  for  interesting  colophons, 
as  wherever  printers  did  good  work  and  took  pride  in  it 
we  may  expect  to  find  correspondingly  good  colophons. 
Certainly  at  Venice  we  have  no  ground  for  disappoint- 
ment in  this  respect.  The  Venetian  colophons  are  plenti- 
ful and  full  of  information,  though  chiefly  about  the 
publisher's  side  of  printing.    What  makes  them  a  little 

30 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  31 

alarming  to  the  pedestrian  editor  is  that  so  many  of  the 
earliest  and  most  interesting  specimens  are  in  verse.  The 
books  most  favored  by  the  first  Venetian  printers  were 
editions  of  the  Latin  classics  and  Latin  translations  of  the 
Greek  ones.  To  see  these  through  the  press  each  printer 
had  to  retain  the  services  of  a  corrector,  who  filled  a  po- 
sition half-way  between  the  modern  proof-reader's  and 
editor's.  The  printers,  not  being  able  to  write  Latin 
themselves  with  any  fluency,  naturally  left  their  colo- 
phons in  the  hands  of  their  correctors,  and  these  gentle- 
men preferred  to  express  themselves  in  verse.  The  verse, 
even  allowing  for  the  fact  that  it  is  generally  intended 
to  be  scanned  by  accent  rather  than  quantity,  is  often  of 
a  kind  which  would  get  an  English  school-boy  into  con- 
siderable trouble;  and  it  would  be  a  nice  question  as  to 
whether  Omnibonus  Leonicenus  and  Raphael  Zoven- 
zonius,  who  wrote  it  for  John  and  Wendelin  of  Speier; 
Antonius  Cornazanus,  who  was  in  the  pay  of  Jenson;  or 
Valdarfer's  corrector,  Lodovicus  Carbo,  should  be  held 
the  most  successful.  Just,  however,  because  its  poetic  or- 
naments are  commonplace,  to  render  this  verse  into  prose 
seems  more  than  usually  unsportsmanlike.  Good  poetry 
can  stand  the  test  of  prose,  and  the  poetaster  meddles  with 
it  at  his  peril,  as  witness  the  uniform  inferiority  of  metrical 
renderings  of  the  Psalms  to  the  prose  of  the  Great  Bible 
or  Prayer-Book  version.  But  mediocre  poetry  when 
turned  into  prose  becomes  simply  ridiculous,  and  so  the 
present  translator,  without  reckoning  himself  as  even  a 
"  minimus  poeta,"  has  wrestled  manfully  with  these  vari- 
ous verse  colophons  and  "  reduced  "  them,  as  best  he  could, 
into  English  rhymes,  since  these,  poor  as  they  are,  misrep- 
resent the  originals  less  than  any  attempt  he  could  make 
in  prose.  Here,  then,  without  more  apology,  are  the 
colophons  from  the  earliest  Venetian  books,  which  fall 
into  an  interesting  sequence. 


32  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

The  first  printer  at  Venice,  it  will  be  remembered,  was 
John  of  Speier,  who  obtained  a  special  privilege  for  his 
work  which  would  have  cramped  the  whole  craft  at 
Venice  had  not  his  death  removed  the  difficulty.  In  his 
first  book,  an  edition  of  Cicero's  "  Epistolae  ad  Famili- 
ares,"  printed  in  1469,  the  colophon  is  cast  into  these 
verses : 

Primus  in  Aclriaca  fbrmis  impreffit  acnis 
Vrbc  Libros  Spira  genitus  de  ftirpc  Iobannes 
In  reliquis  fit  quanta  uides  fpcs  lector  babcnda 
Quom  Labor  bic  primus  calami  fupcraucrit  artcm 

m.cccc.lxvuh. 

Cicero.    Epistolae  ad  Familiares.     Venice :  John  of  Speier,  1469. 

Primus  in  Adriaca  formis  impressit  aenis 
Vrbe  libros  Spira  genitus  de  stirpe  Iohannes. 
In  reliquis  sit  quanta  uides  spes,  lector,  habenda, 
Quom  labor  hie  primus  calami  superauerit  artem. 

M.CCCC.LXVUH. 

In  Adria's  town,  one  John,  a  son  of  Speier, 

First  printed  books  by  means  of  forms  of  brass. 

And  for  the  future  shall  not  hope  rise  higher 
When  the  first  fruits  the  penman's  art  surpass? 

1469. 

Of  this  first  Venetian  edition  of  Cicero's  letters  we  know 
from  a  subsequent  colophon  that  only  one  hundred  copies 
were  printed,  one  twenty-fifth  part  of  the  whole  edition 
now  being  preserved  in  the  four  copies  at  the  British 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  33 

Museum.  It  was  obviously  sold  out  very  rapidly,  and  in 
some  three  or  four  months'  time  the  printer  had  got  out  a 
second  edition,  to  which  he  added  a  new  colophon. 

Hefperie  quondam  Germanus  quofq;  libellos 
Abstulit:  En  plures  ipfc  daturus  adefc. 

Nanq;  uir  ingenio  mirandus  &c  arte  Ioannes 
Exfcnbi  docuitclarius  pre  libros. 

Spira  feuct  Venetis:quarto  nam  menfe  pcregit 
Hoc  tcrcentcnum  bis  Ciceronis  opus. 

M.CCCCLX  Villi. 

Cicero.    Epistolae  ad  Familiares.    Second  Edition. 
Venice:  John  of  Speier,  1469. 


Hesperiae  quondam  Germanus  quisque1  libellos 
Abstulit:  en  plures  ipse  daturus  adest. 

Namque  uir  ingenio  mirandus  et  arte  Ioannes 
Exscribi  docuit  clarius  aere  libros. 

Spira  fauet  Venetis:  quarto  nam  mense  peregit 
Hoc  tercentenum  bis  Ciceronis  opus. 

M.CCCC.LXVIIII. 

From  Italy  once  each  German  brought  a  book. 
A  German  now  will  give  more  than  they  took. 
For  John,  a  man  whom  few  in  skill  surpass, 
Has  shown  that  books  may  best  be  writ  with  brass. 
Speier  befriends  Venice:  twice  in  four  months  has  he 
Printed  this  Cicero,  in  hundreds  three. 

1469. 

1 1  make  this  emendation  with  much  misgiving,  as  the  medieval  use  of  "  quisque  " 
was  very  elastic,  and  the  text  may  be  right. 


34  AN   ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

The  puzzle  here  is  to  determine  how  many  copies  there 
were  of  the  second  edition.  Mr.  Horatio  Brown,  in 
"The  Venetian  Printing  Press"  (p.  10), courageously  as- 
serts that  "  the  second  edition  of  the  Epistulae  consisted 
of  six  hundred  copies,  published  in  two  issues  of  three 
hundred  each;  and  that  the  whole  six  hundred  took  four 
months  to  print."  This  is  clearly  inadmissible,  as  every- 
thing we  know  of  fifteenth-century  printing  forbids  us  to 
suppose  that  John  of  Speier  kept  the  whole  book  stand- 
ing in  type  and  printed  off  a  second  "  issue  "  when  he 
found  there  was  a  demand  for  it.  The  fourth  month  must 
be  reckoned  from  the  date  of  the  first  edition,  and  we  have 
to  choose,  as  to  the  number  of  copies  in  the  second,  be- 
tween supposing  that  the  three  hundred,  the  "tercente- 
num  opus,"  refers  to  this  alone,  and  that  the  poet  did 
not  intend  to  make  any  statement  about  the  number  of 
the  first  edition  at  all,  or  else  that  the  second  edition  con- 
sisted of  two  hundred  copies,  and  that  these,  with  the 
hundred  of  the  first,  made  up  a  total  of  three  hundred. 
In  either  case  his  language  is  ambiguous,  as  the  language 
of  poets  is  apt  to  be  when  they  try  to  put  arithmetic  into 
verse. 

I  have  followed  Mr.  Proctor  in  making  the  second  edi- 
tion of  Cicero's  letters  precede  the  Pliny,  but — as,  in 
common  with  many  other  students  of  old  books,  I  am 
made  to  feel  daily  —  to  be  no  longer  able  to  go  to  him  for 
information  is  a  sore  hindrance.  I  should  have  thought 
myself  that  the  Pliny,  a  much  larger  book,  was  begun 
simultaneously  with  the  first  edition  of  Cicero,  and  that 
Wendelin's  colophon  to  the  "De  Civitate  Dei  "obliged 
us  to  link  the  Pliny  with  the  first  rather  than  the  second 
edition.  Perhaps,  however,  this  arithmetic  in  verse  is 
once  more  a  little  loose.  Certainly  the  Pliny  colophon, 
which  is  free  from  figures,  is  all  the  better  poetry  for  that 
reason.    It  is  the  book  here  that  speaks : 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  3s 

Qucm  modo  tarn  rarum  cupicns  uix  lector  baber&: 
Quiq?  ctiam  firacftus  penc  legcndus  eram: 
Rcrtitutt  Venetis  mc  nupcr  Spira  Ioannes: 
Exfcripfitq?  hbros  ere  notante  mcos. 
Fcfla  manus  quondam  moneo :  Calamufq?  quicfcat. 
Nanqj  labor  Audio  ceflit:&  ingenio. 

JM.CCCCLXVIIIL 

Plinius.    Historia  Naturalis.    Venice:  John  of  Speier,  1469. 

Quern  modo  tam  rarum  cupiens  vix  lector  haberet, 
Quique  etiam  fractus  pene  legendus  eram : 
Restituit  Venetis  me  nuper  Spira  Ioannes  : 
Exscripsitque  libros  aere  notante  meos. 
Fessa  manus  quondam  moneo:  calamusque  quiescat, 
Namque  labor  studio  cessit:  etingenio. 

M.CCCC.LXVIIII. 

I,  erst  so  rare  few  bookmen  could  afford  me, 

And  erst  so  blurred  that  buyers'  eyes  would  fail — 

To  Venice  now  'twas  John  of  Speier  restored  me, 
And  made  recording  brass  unfold  my  tale. 

Let  rest  the  tired  hand,  let  rest  the  reed: 

Mere  toil  to  zealous  wits  the  prize  must  cede. 

1469. 

The  aspersion  on  the  scribes  was  undeserved.  If  truth  be 
told,  either  because  they  used  too  thin  an  ink,  or  else  from 
too  slight  pressure,  the  early  Venetian  printers  seldom 
did  full  justice  to  their  beautiful  types;  and  though  their 
vellum  copies  are  really  fine,  those  on  paper  are  no  easier 
to  read  than  the  average  fifteenth-century  manuscripts 
which  they  imitated.    We  must,  however,  forgive  John 


36  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

of  Speier  his  little  boastings,  as  this  was  the  last  colophon 
he  was  to  print ;  and  our  next,  which  comes  at  the  end 
of  S.  Augustine's  "  De  Civitate  Dei,"  contains  his  epitaph : 

Qui  docuit  Venetos  exscribi  posse  Ioannes 
Mense  fere  trino  centena  uolumina  Plini 
Et  totidem  magni  Ciceronis  Spira  Hbellos, 
Ceperat  Aureli:  subito  sed  morte  peremptus 
Non  potuit  ceptum  Venetis  finire  uolumen. 
Vindelinus  adest,  eiusdem  frater  et  arte 
Non  minor,  Adriacaque  morabitur  urbe. 

M.CCCC.LXX. 

John,  who  taught  Venice  there  might  written  be 
A  hundred  Plinys  in  months  barely  three, 
And  of  great  Cicero  as  many  a  book, 
Began  Augustine,  but  then  death  him  took, 
Nor  suffered  that  he  should  Venetians  bless 
Finishing  his  task.     Now  Wendelin,  no  less 
With  skill  equipped,  his  brother,  in  his  room 
Means  to  take  Adria's  city  for  his  home. 

1470. 

The  business  which  thus  passed  into  his  hands  was  cer- 
tainly carried  on  by  Wendelin  vigorously,  for  during  the 
next  three  years  he  turned  out  over  a  dozen  folios  or  large 
quartos  a  year.  He  seems,  indeed,  to  have  outrun  his 
resources,  for  as  early  as  1 47 1  his  colophons  tell  us  that 
some  of  his  books  were  financed  for  him  by  John  of  Co- 
logne, and  after  the  summer  of  1473  n*s  tvPe  Passea<  mto 
the  possession  of  this  John  and  his  "very  faithful  part- 
ner, Johann  Manthen."  As  Wendelin's  name  disappears 
from  colophons  for  three  years,  it  is  probable  that  his  ser- 
vices were  taken  over  with  his  types;  in  1 470,  however,  he 
was  his  own  master  and  the  object  of  much  praise  from 
his  colophon-writer.    In  his  Sallust  of  this  year  we  read : 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  37 

Quadringenta  dedit  formata  volumina  Crispi 
Nunc,  lector,  Venetis  Spirea  Vindelinus. 

Et  calamo  libros  audes  spectare  notatos 
Aere  magis  quando  littera  ducta  nitet  ? 

To  Venice  Wendelin,  who  from  Speier  comes, 
Has  given  of  Sallust  twice  two  hundred  tomes. 
And  who  dare  glorify  the  pen-made  book, 
When  so  much  fairer  brass-stamped  letters  look  ? 

The  Livy  of  the  same  year  ends  with  a  poem  of  forty-six 
lines,  which  praises  Wendelin  for  bravely  rescuing  such 
of  Livy's  Decads  as  remained,  "  saevis  velut  hostibus  acri 
Bello  oppugnatas,"  and  by  multiplying  copies  saving 
them  from  the  fate  which  had  befallen  the  rest.  A  poem 
like  this,  however,  must  be  reckoned  rather  with  con- 
gratulatory verses  than  as  a  colophon,  though  the  line  in 
these  Venetian  books  is  not  always  easy  to  draw.  Two 
more  of  Wendelin's  publications  in  1470  may  be  pressed 
into  our  service — a  Virgil  and  a  Petrarch.  Of  these  the 
Virgil  ends : 

Progenitus  Spira  formis  monumenta  Maronis 

Hoc  Vindelinus  scripsit  apud  Venetos. 
Laudent  ergo  alii  Polycletos  Parrhasiosue 

Et  quosuis  alios  id  genus  artifices  : 
Ingenuas  quisquis  Musarum  diligit  artes 

In  primis  ipsum  laudibus  afficiet : 
Nee  vero  tantum  quia  multa  uolumina,  quantum 

Quod  perpulchra  simul  optimaque  exhibeat. 

M.CCCC.LXX. 

Wendelin  of  Speier  these  records  of  the  art 
Of  Maro  now  to  Venice  doth  impart. 
Let  some  of  Polycletus  praise  the  skill, 
Parrhasius,  or  what  sculptor  else  you  will ; 


38  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

Who  loves  the  stainless  gifts  the  Muses  give 
Will  pray  that  Wendelin's  renown  may  live  ; 
Not  that  his  volumes  make  so  long  a  row, 
But  rather  for  the  grace  and  skill  they  show. 

1470. 

The  colophon  to  the  Petrarch  claims  credit  for  the  res- 
toration of  a  true  text,  a  point  on  which  the  scholars  of 
the  Renaissance  were  as  keen,  up  to  their  lights,  as  those 
of  our  own  day,  and  which  is  often  emphasized  in  their 
laudatory  verses  as  the  one  supreme  merit : 

Que  fuerant  multis  quondam  confusa  tenebris 

Petrarce  Laure  metra  sacrata  sue, 
Christophori  et  pariter  feruens  Cyllenia  cura 

Transcripsit  nitido  lucidiora  die. 
Vtque  superueniens  nequeat  corrumpere  tempus 

En  Vindelinus  erea  plura  dedit. 

The  songs  that  Petrarch  to  his  Laura  made 
With  many  a  doubt  obscure  were  overlaid  : 
Now,  by  Cristoforo's  and  Cyllenio's  care, 
Than  day  itself  their  text  shall  shine  more  fair. 
Lest  by  corrupting  time  they  still  be  tried, 
Wendelin  these  printed  copies  multiplied. 

In  1 47 1  Wendelin,  or  his  correctors,  lest  their  inspiration 
should  be  too  hard  worked,  invented  a  simple  couplet 
which  would  apply  to  any  book  equally  well. 

Impressum  formis  iustoque  nitore  coruscans 
Hoc  Vindelinus  condidit  artis  opus. 

Printed  from  forms,  with  modest  splendors  bright, 
This  Wendelin  designed  to  give  delight. 

This  is  found  in  the  "  Apophthegmata  "  of  Plutarch,  the 
"  Memorabilia  "  of  Valerius  Maximus,  the  "  Singularia" 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  39 

of  Pontanus,  the  "Aureae  Quaestiones"  of  Bartolus  de 
Saxoferrato,  etc.;  and  must  have  been  a  welcome  second 
string  in  case  of  need.  Nevertheless,  when  a  second  edi- 
tion of  Sallust  was  called  for,  Wendelin's  private  poet 
was  equal  to  the  occasion,  producing  the  quatrain  : 

Quadringenta  iterum  formata  uolumina  nuper 
Crispi  dedit  Venetis  Spirea  Vindelinus. 

Sed  meliora  quidem  lector,  mihi  crede,  secundo 
Et  reprobata  minus  antea  quam  dederat. 

The  verses  are  so  incredibly  bad,  not  merely  in  their  en- 
tire disregard  of  quantity,  but  in  grammar  as  well,  that 
it  would  be  pleasant  to  reproduce  the  peculiar  iniquity 
which  makes  their  charm.  What  the  writer  meant  to 
say  was  something  to  the  effect  that : 

Wendelin  of  Speierto  Venice  now  once  more 
Of  printed  Sallusts  hath  given  hundreds  four. 
But  here  all 's  better,  all  may  trusted  be : 
This  text,  good  reader,  is  from  errors  free. 

Faithfully  to  reecho  the  discords  of  the  original  is  above 
the  present  translator's  skill. 

As  money  troubles  thickened  about  him,  Wendelin's 
colophons  became  less  buoyant  and  interesting ;  but  in 
1473,  when  the  transfer  of  his  business  to  John  of  Co- 
logne and  Manthen  of  Gerresheim  was  impending,  we 
find  these  verses  in  one  of  the  huge  law-books  in  which 
the  early  printers  were  so  bold  in  investing  their  money 
— the  "Lectura  Bartoli  de  Saxoferrato  super  secunda 
parte  Digesti  Veteris": 

Finis.    M.  cccc.  lxxiii. 

Non  satis  est  Spire :  gratissima  carmina  Phoebo, 
Musarum  cantus,  historiasque  premi. 


4o  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Omnis  habet  sua  vota  liber.    Non  cessat  ab  arte. 

Has  pressit  leges,  Iustiniane,  tuas. 
Spira  tua  est  virtus  Italas  iam  nota  per  urbes, 

Ore  tuum  nomen  posteritatis  erit. 

1473- 
'T  is  not  enough  for  Speier  to  print  the  songs 

That  Phoebus  loves,  the  Muses'  tales  and  lays: 
Each  book  is  favored.    Not  for  rest  he  longs, 

But  thus  to  print  Justinian's  laws  essays. 
Speier,  now  Italy's  cities  know  thy  glory, 
And  future  ages  shall  repeat  the  story. 

When  Wendelin  resumed  business  on  his  own  account 
in  1476,  he  published  very  few  books;  but  one  of  these, 
the  "Divina  Commedia"  of  Dante,  printed  in  that  year, 
has  an  Italian  colophon  in  the  ambitious  form  of  a  sonnet: 

J    infra  t  kpn  tcHttcltrc  a  btoo 

Saute  fillegbien  Sioientin  porta 

lacui  Mima  fenfra  alberga  Item 

ncl  cie!  fcren  one  temp:e  tl  ffa  m'uo 
fc  imola  be imemiro  mat*  fia  piiuo 

£>etcrna  fama  cbc  fua  manfuera 

tyra  opero  commando  i\  pcera 

per  cut'  t'l  uxto  s  noi  e  trellcclfuo 
C   brtftofal£erardtpifaur*Bfitetrf 

opera  e  fccke  fmfegno  corrcftore 

per  qtianro  fntefe  t>i  quells  t  fubtetrf 
Jb  tfyicratenddinfuiltimpntorz 

Del  millf  quattrocento  e  fettantafetti 

coirawn  glianni  fcl  ncRro  figno:c 


fI*J0 

Dante.    Divina  Commedia.    Venice  :  Wendelin  of  Speier,  1476. 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  41 

Finita  e  lopra  del  inclito  e  diuo 
Dante  alleghieri  Fiorentin  poeta 
La  cui  anima  sancta  alberga  lieta 
Nel  del  seren  oue  sempre  il  fia  vivo. 
Dimola  benvenuto  mai  fia  priuo 
Deterna  fama  che  sua  mansueta 
Lyra  opero  comentando  il  poeta, 
Per  cui  il  texto  a  noi  e  intellectiuo. 
Christofal  Berardi  pisaurense  detti 
Opera  e  facto  indegno  correctore 
Per  quanto  intese  di  quella  i  subietti. 
De  Spiera  Vendelin  fu  il  stampatore: 
Del  mille  quattrocento  e  settanta  setti 
Correuan  gli  anni  del  nostro  signore. 

Here  ends  the  work  of  Dante,  the  most  high 

Florentine  poet,  famed  to  every  age, 

Whose  holy  soul  now  finds  glad  harborage 
(Aye  may  he  there  abide!)  in  heaven's  clear  sky. 
From  Benvenuto  d'Imola  let  none  try 

To  wrest  the  credit  due  for  comment  sage 

On  this  great  poem,  by  which  every  page, 
Poet  himself,  he  helps  to  clarify. 
Pesaro's  son,  Christoph  Berardi  hight, 

Hath  all  corrected,  though  with  many  a  fear 
Of  lofty  themes,  hard  to  pursue  aright. 

The  printer  Wendelin,  who  from  Speier  came  here: 
And  since  Christ's  birth  there  urges  now  its  flight 

The  fourteen  hundred  six  and  seventieth  year. 


This  putting  of  dates  into  verse  is  sad  work.  In  Jenson's 
early  colophons,  instead  of  dates  (which  are  added  in 
prose),  we  have  the  name  of  the  reigning  doge  to  wrestle 
with.  Thus,  in  his  edition  of  the  "  Rhetorica  "  and  "  De 
Inuentione  "  of  Cicero  we  find  the  following  verse  and 
prose  colophon : 


42  AN   ESSAY   ON   COLOPHONS 

Emendate  manu  funt  exemplaria  dodta 
Omntbonuquem  dat  u  traq?  lingua  pa  trem. 

Hxc  eadem  Ienfon  ueneta  Nicoiaus  in  utbe 
FormauiuMauro  fub  duce  Chnftoforo . 

MARCITVLLIICICERONIS  ORATO 
RIS  CLARISSIMI  RHETORICORVM 
VETERVM  LIBER  V  LTIMVSFELICI 
TER  EXPLICIT. 

.M.CCCC.LXX. 

Cicero.    Rhetorica.    Venice:  N. Jenson,  1470. 

Emendata  manu  sunt  exemplaria  docta 

Omniboni:  quern  datutraque  lingua  patrem. 

Haec  eadem  Ienson  Veneta  Nicoiaus  in  urbe 
Formauit:  Mauro  sub  duce  Christoforo. 

MARCI  TVLLII  CICERONIS  ORATORIS 

CLARISSIMI  RHETORICORVM  LIBER 

VLTIMVS  FELICITER  EXPLICIT. 

M.CCCC.LXX. 

Omnibonus  with  his  learned  hand  hath  these 
Copies  revised,  skilled  in  two  languages; 
And  Nicolas  Jenson  shaped  them  by  his  pains 
At  Venice,  while  Cristoforo  Moro  reigns. 

The  last  book  of  the  Rhetorics  of  Marcus  Tullius  Cicero,  the 
most  renowned  orator,  comes  happily  to  an  end.    1470. 

So  again  in  an  edition,  of  the  same  year,  of  the  Letters 
to  Atticus  we  have  a  similar  colophon,  the  poetical  por- 
tion of  which  might  easily  have  led  a  reader  to  believe 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  43 

that  he  was  invited  to  buy  a  work  by  Atticus  himself  in- 
stead of  letters  mainly  addressed  to  him : 

Attice,  nunc  totus  Veneta  diffunderis  urbe, 

Cum  quondam  fuerit  copia  rara  tui. 
Gallicus  hoc  Ienson  Nicolaus  muneris  orbi 

Attulit :  ingenio  daedalicaque  manu. 
Christophorus  Mauro  plenus  bonitate  fideque 

Dux  erat :  auctorem,  lector,  opusque  tenes. 

MARCI  T.  C.  EPISTOLAE  AD  ATTICVM  BRVTVM 

et  Quintum  fratrem,  cum  ipsius  Attici  vita  feliciter  expliciunt. 
M.CCCC.LXX. 

All  Atticus  is  now  in  Venice  sold, 
Though  copies  were  right  rare  in  days  of  old. 
French  Nicolas  Jenson  this  good  gift  has  brought, 
And  all  with  skill  and  crafty  hand  has  wrought. 
Our  doge,  Cristoforo  Moro,  true  and  kind. 
Thus  book  and  author,  reader,  here  you  find. 

The  Letters  of  Marcus  Tullius  Cicero  to  Atticus,  Brutus,  and 
his  brother  Quintus,  with  the  life  of  the  said  Atticus,  come  hap- 
pily to  an  end.    1470. 

In  the  next  year  we  have  to  deal  with  the  little  group  of 
vernacular  books  printed  by  Jenson,  to  one  of  which  the 
omission  of  an  X  from  the  date  in  the  colophon  has  given 
such  notoriety.  The  three  which  are  correctly  dated  are : 
(i)  "  Una  opera  la  quale  se  chiama  LuctusChristianorum 
ex  Passione  Christi,  zoe  pianto  de  Christiani  per  la  Pas- 
sione  de  Christo  in  forma  de  Meditatione." 

Colophon:  A  Christi  Natiuitate  Anno  M.CCCCLXXI.  Pridie 
nonas  Apriles  a  preclarissimo  librorum  exculptore  Nicolao  gal- 
lico.    Impressa  est  passio  christi  dulcissima. 


44  AN    ESSAY   ON   COLOPHONS 

In  the  year  147 1  from  Christ's  Nativity,  on  April  4th,  by  the 
most  famous  engraver  of  books,  Nicolas  Jenson,  there  was 
printed  The  Most  Sweet  Passion  of  Christ. 

(ii)  "Parole  devote  de  lanima  inamorata  in  Misser 
Iesu." 


Colophon  :  MCCCCLXXI.  Octauo  Idus  Aprilis :  per 
Nicolaum  Ienson  gallicum  opusculum  hoc  feliciter  impressum 
est. 

1 47 1,  April  6th,  by  Nicolas  Jenson,  a  Frenchman,  this  booklet 
was  happily  printed. 

(iii)  "  Una  operetta  la  quale  si  chiama  Palma  Virtutum 
zioe  triumpho  de  uirtude :  la  quale  da  Riegola  forma  et 
modo  a  qualunque  stato,"  etc. 

Colophon  :  Deo  Gratias.  Amen.  Opus  Nicolai  Ienson  Gal- 
lici.    M.CCCCLXXI. 

Thanks  be  to  God,  Amen.  The  work  of  Nicolas  Jenson,  a 
Frenchman.    1471. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  second  colophon  is  shorter 
than  the  first,  and  it  should  be  mentioned  that  in  yet 
another  book  of  the  same  kind,  the  "  Gloria  Mulierum," 
Jenson  did  not  trouble  to  put  his  name  at  all,  doubtless 
thinking,  according  to  the  view  propounded  in  our  first 
chapter,  that  these  little  vernacular  books  of  devotion 
would  bring  him  no  particular  credit.  If  we  look  now 
at  the  book  with  the  misprinted  date,  "Una  opera  la 
quale  si  chiama  Decor  Puellarum,  zoe  Honore  de  le 
Donzelle:  la  quale  da  regola  forma  e  modo  al  stato  de 
le  honeste  donzelle,"  we  find  this  colophon: 


COLOPHONS  AT  VENICE  45 

ANNO  A  CHRISTI INCARNA' 
TIONE.MCCCCLXI.PER  MAGL 
STRVM  NICOLAVM  IENSON 
HOC  OPVS  OVOD  PVELLA/ 
RVM  DECOR  DICITVRFELICI' 
TER  IMPRESS VM  EST. 

LAVS  DEO. 

Decor  Puelkrum.    Venice:    N.  Jenson,  1461  for  1471. 

Anno  a  Christi  Incarnatione  MCCCCLXI  per  Magistrum 
Nicolaum  Ienson  hoc  opus  quod  Puellarum  Decor  dicitur  feli- 
citer  impressum  est.    Laus  Deo. 

In  the  year  from  Christ's  Incarnation  146 1,  by  Master  Nicolas 
Jenson,  this  book,  which  is  called  Maidens'  Honor,  was  hap- 
pily printed.    Thanks  be  to  God. 

Just  as  the  subjects  of  all  the  books  are  of  the  same  class, 
and  just  as  they  are  all  printed  in  the  same  types  and  the 
same  size,  so  we  find  a  general  agreement  in  the  colo- 
phons (as  compared  with  those  used  by  Jenson  in  the 
books  issued  in  1470),  tempered  with  modifications 
which  seem  to  fall  into  an  orderly  sequence.  In  sub- 
ject the  "Pianto  de  Christiani"  and  "Parole  devote  de 
1'anima  inamorata"  seem  to  pair  best  together,  and  the 
"Decor  Puellarum"  (regola  de  le  honeste  donzelle) 
with  the  "Palma  Virtutum"  (regola  a  qualunque  per- 
sona). The  first  two  are  exactly  dated  within  three  days 
of  each  other,  the  second  pair  have  only  the  date  of  the 
year.  Probably  there  were  two  sets  of  compositors,  one 
of  whom  printed  the  first  pair,  the  other  the  second,  and 


46 


AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 


we  see  them  starting  by  calling  Jenson  a  "most  famous 
engraver  of  books,"  dropping  these  flowers  in  the"Decor 
Puellarum,"  and  quickly  getting  down  to  the  curt  for- 
mula of  the  "  Palma  Virtutum."  The  typographical  evi- 
dence, without  further  corroboration,  would  entitle  us 
to  feel  sure  that  the  omission  of  a  second  X  in  the  date 
MCCCCLXI  was  purely  accidental,1  but  it  is  satisfac- 
tory to  find  that  the  form  of  the  colophon  itself  makes 
it  impossible  to  separate  it  from  its  fellows  and  unrea- 


1  As  regards  the  misprint  MCCCC- 
LXI for  MCCCCLXXI,  the  ease  with 
which  a  compositor  could  omit  a  sec- 
ond X  is  evident  of  itself;  but  it  may 
be  worth  while,  as  proof  of  the  fre- 
quency with  which  this  particular  error 
actually  occurred,  to  quote  here  four 
several  colophons  from  a  single  year, 
1478,  in  all  of  which  it  occurs.    These 


(i)  At  Barcelona,  in  an  edition  of 
the  "Pro  condendis  orationibus  iuxta 
grammaticas  leges"   of  Bartollommeo 

Mates  : 

Colophon  :  Libellus  pro  efficiendis  ora- 
tionibus, ut  grammaticae  artis  leges  ex- 
postulant,  a  docto  uiro  Bertolomeo  Mates 
conditus  et  per  P.  Iohannem  Matoses 
Christi  ministerum  presbiterumque  casti- 
gatus  et  emendatus  sub  impensis  Guil- 
lermi  Ros  et  mira  arte  impressa  per 
Iohannem  Gherlinc  alamanum  finitur 
barcynone  nonis  octobriis  anni  a  natiui- 
tate  Cristi  MCCCCLXVIII. 


A  booklet  for  making  speeches  as  the 
rules  of  the  art  of  grammar  demand,  com- 
posed by  a  learned  man,  Bartolommeo 
Mates,  and  corrected  and  amended  by 
Father  Juan  Matoses,  a  minister  and 
priest  of  Christ,  at  the  expense  of  Guil- 
lermo  Ros,  and  printed  with  wonderful 
art  by  Johann  Gherlinc,   a  German,   is 


ended  at  Barcelona  on  October  7th,  in 
the  year  from  Christ's  birth  MCCCC- 
LXVIII. 

(ii)  At  Oxford,  in  the  edition  of  the 
Exposition  on  the  Creed  written  by 
Rufinus  of  Aquileia  and  attributed  to 
S.  Jerome: 

Colophon  :  Explicit  exposicio  sancti  Ie- 
ronimi  in  simbolo  apostolorum  ad  papam 
laurencium  Impressa  Oxonie  et  finita  An- 
no domini  M.CCCCLXVIII,  xvii  die 
decembris. 

Here  ends  the  Exposition  of  St.  Jerome 
on  the  Apostles'  Creed  addressed  to  Pope 
Laurence.  Printed  at  Oxford  and  finished 
A.D.  M.CCCCLXVIII,  on  the  17th 
day  of  December. 

(iii)  At  Venice,  in  an  edition  of  the 
"De  componendis  versibus  hexametro 
et  pentametro  "  of  Mataratius  printed 
by  Erhard  Ratdolt. 

Colophon  :  Erhardus  Ratdolt  Augusten- 
sis  probatissimus  librarie  artis  exactor 
summa  confecit  diligentia.  Anno  Christi 
M.CCCC.LXVIII.  vii  calen.  Decem- 
bris.   Venetiis. 

Erhard  Ratdolt  of  Augsburg,  a  most 
upright  practitioner  of  the  bookish  art, 
finished  this  with  the  utmost  diligence. 
In  the  year  of  Christ  M.CCCC.LXVIII. 
On  November  25th.    At  Venice. 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  47 

sonable  to  place  it  earlier  than  the  fuller  and  more 
boastful  form  used  in  the  "  Pianto  de  Christiani." 

Though  the  colophons  of  his  vernacular  books  were 
thus  already  tending  to  curtness  in  1471,  Jenson  still 
paid  some  attention  to  those  of  his  Latin  publications. 
Thus,  in  an  edition  of  Suetonius's  "  Lives  of  the  Caesars" 
of  that  year  we  find  the  quatrain : 

Hoc  ego  Nicoleos  Gallus  cognomine  Ienson 
Impressi :  mirae  quis  neget  artis  opus? 

At  tibi  dum  legitur  docili  Suetonius  ore 
Artificis  nomen  fac,  rogo,  lector  ames. 

M.CCCC.LXXI. 


Nicolas  Jenson,  a  Frenchman,  I 
This  book  have  printed.    Who  '11  deny 
The  skill  it  shows  ?    Then,  reader  kind, 
The  while  't  is  read  please  bear  in  mind 
The  printer's  name  with  friendly  thought 
Who  this  Suetonius  has  wrought. 

1471. 

(iv)  At  Cologne,  in  an  edition  of  the  retary,  afterward  as  bishop,  then  as  car- 
letters  of  Pope  Pius  II  printed  by  Jo-  dinal,  was  called  Enea  Silvio,  the  Familiar 
hann  Koelhoff,  the  omission  in  this  Letters,  written  to  his  friends  in  his  four- 
case  being  a  double  one.  *?ld  con?lt'on  °tlife'  c°™  to  an  encL 

By  me,  Johann  Koelhoff  of  Lubeck,  an 

inhabitant  of  Cologne,  in  the  year  of  the 

Colophon  :  Pii  secundi  pontificis  maxi-  Incarnation  M.CCCCLVIII. 
mi  cui  ante  summum    episcopatum  pri- 

mum  quidem  imperial!   secretario,   mox  The  anti       ries  rf  Oxf0rd  and  Bar- 

episcopo,  deinde  etiam  cardinah  senensi  ,          „   x    .         .         ,               ,       , 

-T       £.,  •                   .  T?      .,-            ..1  ceJona  at  various  times  have  made  what 

Enee  Siluio  nome  erat  Famihares  epistole  _  .      « 

date  ad  amicos  in  quadruplici  vite  eius  nght  they  could  for  the  correctness  of 

statu  finiunt.     Per  me  Iohannem  Koel-  the  dates  as  printed,  but  the  contest 

hoff  de  Lubeck  Colonie  incolaru  Anno  has   long  since   been    decided  against 

incarnationis  M.CCCCLVIII.  them,  while  the  careers  of  Ratdoltand 

Koelhoff  are   so   well  known  that  in 

Of  Pope  Pius  II,  who,  before  he  attained  their  cases  the  incorrectness  of  the  dates 

the  supreme  bishopric,  as  imperial  sec-  has  always  been  a  matter  of  certainty. 


48  AN    ESSAY   ON   COLOPHONS 

In  the  "  De  Bello  Italico  aduersus  Gotthos  "  of  Leonardo 
Aretino,  printed  in  the  same  year,  we  find  this  sentiment 
expressed  more  concisely  in  a  couplet  which  could  be 
inserted  in  any  book : 

Gallicus  hunc  librum  impressit  Nicolaus  Ienson. 
Artifici  grates,  optime  lector,  habe. 

Nicolas  Jenson,  a  Frenchman,  took 
The  pains  to  put  in  print  this  book. 
Then  to  the  craftsman,  reader  good, 
Be  pleased  to  show  some  gratitude. 

Lastly,  in  this  same  year,  we  have  two  variants  of  a  prose 
colophon  which  contains  a  fine  phrase  of  epigrammatic 
brevity.  In  an  edition  of  the  "  Familiar  Letters  of  Ci- 
cero" it  runs: 

MCCCCLXXI. 

Opus  praeclarissimum  M.  T.  Ciceronis  Epistolarum  Famili- 
arium  a  Nicolao  Ienson  Gallico  viuentibus  necnon  et  posteris 
impressum  feliciter  finit. 

1471. 

A  very  notable  book,  the  Familiar  Letters  of  Marcus  TulHus 
Cicero,  printed  by  Nicolas  Jenson  for  this  and  also  for  future 
generations,  comes  happily  to  an  end. 

The  phrase,  but  slightly  enlarged,  recurs  in  the  "  Insti- 
tutes of  Quintilian  "  of  the  same  year. 

Quintilianum  eloquentiae  fontem  ab  eruditissimo  Omnibono 
Leoniceno  emendatum  M.  Nicolaus  Ienson  Gallicus  viuentibus 
posterisque  miro  impressit  artificio  annis  M.CCCC.LXXI 
Mense  Maii  die  xxi. 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  49 

Quintilian,  the  fountain  of  eloquence,  corrected  by  the  most 
learned  Omnibonus  Leonicenus,was  printed  by  Nicolas  Jenson, 
a  Frenchman,  with  wonderful  craftsmanship,  for  this  and  future 
generations,  in  the  year  1471,  on  the  21st  day  of  the  month  of 
May. 

After  this,  until  he  joined  John  of  Cologne,  Jenson's 
colophons  become  short  and  featureless.  Meanwhile, 
however,  a  third  printer,  Christopher  Valdarfer  of  Ratis- 
bon,  had  set  up  a  press  at  Venice,  and  toward  the  close  of 
1 470  joined  in  the  contest  of  poetical  colophons.  His 
first  contribution  to  it  appears  to  be  these  three  couplets 
in  praise  of  his  edition  of  Cicero's  "  De  Oratore" : 


ANNO.DO.M.CCCC.LXX. 

Lqiiem  oratoris  perfefti  audirc  fuuabit  w~» 
1  _Materiam:fons  eft:  hoc  ciceroms  opus.  ^^* 

}^jxMxl^msJ<^i^PlP^u^att^  lingua  refulg&N-"' 
tiCtifl-opbott  impreffus  hie  liber  arte  fiat,  fi 
Cuiftirps  Val3arkr:patriaefto^ratifpona  tellustv  <~% 
$1  Hunc  emat:orator  qui  uelit  effedibrum.-^ — >. 

Cicero.     De  Oratore.      Venice:   C.  Valdarfer,  1470. 


ANNO  DO.  M.CCCC.LXX. 

Si  quern  oratoris  perfecti  audire  iuuabit 
Materiam :  fons  est  hoc  Ciceronis  opus. 

Hie  tersum  eloquium  uelut  Attica  lingua  refulget: 
Christophori  impressus  hie  liber  arte  fuit. 

Cui  stirps  Valdarfer  patria  estque  Ratispona  tellus. 
Hunc  emat,  orator  qui  uelit  esse,  librum. 


5o  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

Who  'd  know  the  perfect  orator's  stock-in-trade 

Only  this  work  of  Cicero  let  him  read, 

Where  polished  speech,  like  Greek,  doth  light  impart, 

And  all  is  printed  by  Cristoforo's  art, 

Whose  clan 's  Valdarfer,  Ratisbon  his  home. 

The  would-be  orator  need  but  buy  this  tome. 

In  the  following  year  he  issued  another  volume  of  Ci- 
cero, containing  thirty  orations,  and  added  to  it,  doubt- 
less by  the  hand  of  "Lodovico  Carbo,"  his  corrector, 
seven  couplets  of  verse  whose  phrasing  has  somehow 
impelled  me  to  render  them  into  disgracefully  jingling 
rhymes : 


Gcrmam  ingenii  quis  non  mirerur,  acumen  f 

Quod  uuit  gcrmanus  protinas  cfficict : 
Afpice  quam  mira  libros  impreffcrit  arte : 

Quam  fubito  ucterum  toe  monumenta  dedit 
Nomine  Criftophorus :  Valdarfer  gentis  alumnus: 

Ratifponcnus  gloria  magna  foil ; 
Nunc  ingens  Ciceronis  opus :  caufafcp  forenfes 

Quas  inter  patres  dixit  &  in  populo* 
Cernis  quam  recto :  quam  emendato  ordine  ftruxit 

Nulla  figura  ocuhsgratior  cIFc  potc.fl : 
Hoc  autem  illuftri  Venctumperfecit  in  urbe 

Pra^tanti  M&iro  fubDuce  Chriftophoro : 
Accipitc  kunc  librum  quibus  eft  facundia  cordi 

Qui  te  Marce  coldi  fpon  te  difertus  cri  t  ♦ 

M.CCCC.LXXI*  LODO-CARBO. 

Cicero.    Orationes.    Venice:    C.  Valdarfer,  147 1. 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  51 

Germani  ingenii  quis  non  miretur  acumen  ? 

Quod  uult  Germanus  protinus  efficiet. 
Aspice  quam  mira  libros  impresserit  arte: 

Quam  subito  ueterum  tot  monumenta  dedit 
Nomine  Christophorus,  Valdarfer  gentis  alumnus, 

Ratisponensis  gloria  magna  soli. 
Nunc  ingens  Ciceronis  opus  causasque  forenses, 

Quas  inter  patres  dixit  et  in  populo, 
Cernis  quam  recto,  quam  emendato  ordine  struxit : 

Nulla  figura  oculis  gratior  esse  potest. 
Hoc  autem  illustri  Venetum  perfecit  in  urbe 

Praestanti  Mauro  sub  duce  Christophoro. 
Accipite  hunc  librum  quibus  est  facundia  cordi : 

Qui  te  Marte  colet  sponte  disertus  erit. 

M.CCCC.LXXI.    LODO.  CARBO. 

Of  praising  German  talent  what  tongue  can  ever  tire  ? 

For  what  a  German  wishes,  't  is  done  as  soon  as  said. 
The  skilful  printing  of  this  book  should  cause  you  to  admire. 

How  quickly,  too,  are  published  all  these  records  of  the  dead. 
'T  is  Christopher  who  prints  them,  of  the  old  Valdarfer  stock, 

A  credit  and  a  glory  to  the  soil  of  Ratisbon  ; 
Who  issues  now  the  speeches  of  great  Cicero  en  bloc, 

"To  the  Senate,"  "To  the  People,"  and  his  Pleadings  every 
one. 
You  may  see  the  order  follows  the  best  editorial  school : 

No  appearance  could  more  justly  please  the  eye. 
'T  is  printed  here  in  Venice,  'neath  the  noble  Moro's  rule ; 

Who  Cicero  reads  no  other  road  to  eloquence  need  try. 

1 47 1.     Lodo.  Carbo. 

After  1 47 1  Valdarfer  moved  from  Venice  to  Milan, 
where  books  from  his  press  began  to  appear  in  1474. 
Adam  of  Ammergau  made  some  original  contributions 
to  the  poetical  tradition,  but  in  his  1472  edition  of 
Cicero's  Orations  conveyed,  and  very  clumsily,  a  couplet 
from  Valdarfer's  edition  of  the  previous  year: 


52  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Hoc  ingens  Ciceronis  opus,  causasque  forenses 

Quas  inter  patres  dixit  et  in  populo, 
Tu  quicunque  leges,  Ambergau  natus  ahenis 

Impressit  formis.    Ecce  magister  Adam. 
M.CCCC.LXXII. 

Who  prints  you  now  the  speeches  of  great  Cicero  en  bloc, 
"To  the  Senate,"  "To  the  People,"  and  his  Pleadings 
every  one  ? 
Know,  reader,  that  in  Ammergau  is  his  ancestral  stock  ; 
'T  is  Master  Adam  of  that  place  has  this  edition  done. 

1472. 

The  Venetian  verse  tradition  seems  now  to  have  settled 
down  into  a  convention  that  a  new  printer  should  an- 
nounce his  arrival  in  Latin  elegiacs,  but  need  not  continue 
the  practice.  Franciscusde  Hailbrun  complied  with  it  to 
this  extent  in  some  dull  lines  in  an  edition  of  the  "  Quad- 
ragesimale"  of  Robertus  de  Licio  in  1472  ;  and  it  is  in 
another  edition  of  the  same  work  that  Panzer  first  records 
three  couplets  which,  with  the  addition  of  a  prose  sen- 
tence, also  constant  in  form,  occur  in  numerous  books 
printed  by  Bartolommeo  de  Cremona: 

FINIS 
Quern  legisnmpreflus  dum  ftabitin  acre  cara&er 
Oum  non  longa  dies  uel  fera  fata  prcment. 
(VCandida  perpctua:  non  deerit  fama  Cremonx. 
Pbidiacum  bine  fuperat  Bartbolomeus  ebur. 
Ccditc  cbalcograpbi:milIefima  ueftra  figura  eft 
Arcbetypas  fingit  folus  at  ifle  notas. 

M.CCCCXXXII.NICOLAO  TRVNO  DVCE  VEN 
ETIARViM  REGNANTE  IMPRESSVM  FVIT  HO/ 
C  OPVS  FOELICITER. 

Caracciolus.    Quadragesimale  (and  several  other  books). 
Venice:  Bartolommeo  of  Cremona,  1472. 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  $3 

Quern  legis  impressus  dum  stabit  in  aere  caracter 
Dum  non  longa  dies  uel  fera  fata  prement, 

Candida  perpetue  non  deerit  fama  Cremonae. 
Phidiacum  hinc  superat  Bartholomeus  ebur. 

Cedite  chalcographi :  millesima  uestra  figura  est, 
Archetypas  fingit  solus  at  iste  notas. 

M.CCCC.LXXII.  NICOLAO  TRVNO   DVCE  VENE- 

TIARVM    REGNANTE    IMPRESSVM    FVIT    HOC 

OPVS   FOELICITER. 

There  is  nothing  very  remarkable  in  these  lines,  but  they 
are  better  than  most  of  those  with  which  I  have  been 
wrestling,  and  shall  be  dignified,  therefore,  by  being  ren- 
dered into  prose  instead  of  doggerel ;  for  which  also  there 
is  another  reason  in  the  fact  that  the  meaning,  just  when 
it  becomes  interesting,  is  not  as  clear  as  could  be  wished. 
The  best  version  I  can  make  is  as  follows : 

While  the  character  which  you  read  shall  remain  stamped  in 
brass,  while  neither  length  of  days  nor  the  cruel  fates  destroy 
it,  Cremona  shall  not  lack  a  continuance  of  glittering  fame.  By 
this  craft  Bartolommeo  surpasses  the  ivory  of  Pheidias.  Give 
place,  ye  writers  in  brass;  your  number  is  a  thousand,  but  he 
alone  fashions  the  well-known  models. 

In  1472,  when  Nicolo  Truno  was  ruling  Doge  of  Venice, 
this  book  was  successfully  printed. 

"  Chalcographi,"  which  I  have  rendered  literally  as 
"  writers  in  brass,"  is,  of  course,  no  more  than  "  typog- 
raphers," which  means  literally  "  writers  with  type." 
But  what  exactly  were  the  "  notas  archetypas,"  the  well- 
known  models  ?  And  how  did  Bartolommeo  of  Cre- 
mona use  them  so  as  to  distinguish  himself  from  other 
"  chalcographi "  ?  For  a  moment  the  obvious  answer 
appears  to  be  that  Bartolommeo  is  claiming  credit  for 


54  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

himself,  not  as  a  printer,  but  as  a  type-founder.  The  ex- 
planation, however,  cannot  stand  in  any  sense  which 
would  differentiate  Bartolommeo  from  his  fellows  in  the 
way  in  which  a  modern  type-founder  differs  from  the 
printers  who  buy  their  types  of  him.  For  we  know  that 
Bartolommeo  was  himself  a  printer  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  was  the  rule  at  this  period  for  every  printer  to 
cast  his  own  types,  so  that  in  doing  this  he  would  not  be 
accomplishing  anything  exceptional.  If  he  had  been  a 
type-seller  in  the  modern  fashion,  we  may  be  assured 
that  he  would  have  addressed  the  chalcographers,  his 
presumable  customers,  much  more  respectfully.  I  can 
only  imagine,  therefore,  that  the  "  notas  archetypas " 
was  simply  a  good  font  of  type  which  Bartolommeo 
thought  that  other  printers  were  likely  to  copy. 

In  the  editions  of  Virgil  which  he  printed  at  Padua 
in  1472  (unless  there  is  a  mistake  in  the  date),  and  again 
in  1473,  Leonardus  Achates  announces  himself  very 
concisely : 

Urbs  Basilea  mihi,  nomen  est  Leonardus  Achates : 
Qui  tua  compressi  carmina,  diue  Maro. 

AnnoChristi  humanati  M.CCCC.LXXII.  Venet.Duce  Nicol. 
Trono. 

Basel  I  have  for  my  town,  for  my  name  Leonardus  Achates, 
I  who  have  printed  thy  lays,  Virgil,  thou  poet  divine. 

In  the  year  of  Christ's  taking  our  manhood  1472.  At  Venice, 
Nicolo  Trono  being  Doge. 

The  verse  tradition  was  also  complied  with  by  Jacobus  de 
Fivizano  in  a  Virgil  of  1472,  by  Jacobus  Rubeus  in  an 
Ovid  of  1474,  and  by  Erhard  Ratdolt  and  his  com- 
panions on  the  title-page  of  the  Calendar  of  Johannes  de 
Monteregio  in  1 476.  Two  years  later,  when  printing  was 


COLOPHONS   AT  VENICE  55 

becoming  so  great  an  industry  at  Venice  that  such  toys  as 
colophons  in  verse  must  have  begun  to  appear  a  little  un- 
dignified, an  editor  in  the  service  of  John  of  Cologne, 
ordinarily  a  man  of  quite  commercial  colophons,  burst 
out  into  this  song  in  his  praise,  at  the  end  (of  all  places 
in  the  world)  of  the  Commentary  of  Bartolus  de  Saxo- 
ferrato  on  a  section  of  the  Justinian  Code  : 

Sacrarum  occiderant  immensa  uolumina  legum, 
Proh  scelus  !  et  uanos  damnabat  menda  labores, 
Tantus  in  ora  hominum  calamosque  influxerat  error. 
Nullus  erat  tantam  auderet  qui  uincere  molem, 
Et  dubium  nullus  posset  qui  nauibus  equor 
Scindere  foelici  cursu ;  nulli  hec  uia  uiuo 
Insuetumne  patebat  iter;  mortalia  nondum. 
Ingenia  aptarant  scribendis  legibus  era. 
Ergo  noua  est  primus  celebrandus  laude  Ioannes 
Quern  magni  genuit  preclara  Colonia  rheni : 
Elysiis  certe  dignus  post  funera  campis 
Inuentas  propter,  iustus  si  est  Iuppiter,  artes. 
Hie  uenetis  primus  leges  impressit  in  oris 
Et  canones,  nostro  grandis  prouintia  celo, 
Quodque  hominum  generi  cunctis  uel  gentibus  unum 
Sufficiebat  opus  :  soli  hec  est  palma  Ioanni. 
Addidit  et  doctis  multum  censoribus  aurum 
Solus  matura  ut  liberarent  omnia  lance 
Peruigiles,  magnum  emptori  et  memorabile  donum. 
Nam  uia  que  erratis  fuerat  durissima  quondam 
Nunc  facilem  cupidis  monstrat  discentibus  arcem. 
Emptor  habes  careant  omni  qui  crimine  libri, 
Quos  securus  emas  procul  et  quibus  exulat  error. 
Accipe  et  Auctori  dentur  sua  premia  laudes. 

The  Volumes  of  the  Sacred  Law  had  died, 

So  much  were  they  by  error  damnified ; 

Which  had  so  deeply  steeped  each  mouth  and  pen, 

To  free  them  seemed  too  hard  for  mortal  men ; 


56  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Nor  was  there  one  dared  hope  that  he  might  be 
A  happy  pilot  through  that  doubtful  sea. 
No  feet  that  unaccustomed  road  might  pass ; 
None  yet  for  writing  laws  had  moulded  brass. 
John  of  Cologne  on  Rhine,  to  him  we  raise, 
Earnt  by  new  merits,  a  new  song  of  praise. 
Yes,  his  invention,  if  Jove  justice  yields, 
Shall  win  him  when  he  's  dead  Elysian  Fields. 
To  the  great  profit  of  our  realm,  his  hands 
These  laws  first  printed  in  Venetian  lands  ; 
And  from  that  work  which  served  for  all  mankind 
'T  is  given  to  John  alone  glory  to  find. 
He,  too,  alone  gave  learned  men  much  gold 
That  they  might  free  each  text  from  errors  old, 
And  in  the  ready  platter  place  such  food 
That  the  blest  buyer  find  there  nought  but  good. 
Thus  all  the  road,  erst  for  men's  feet  too  hard, 
Right  to  the  topmost  height  lies  now  unbarred. 
Buy,  then,  these  flawless  books  with  a  light  heart ; 
And,  buying,  praise  the  printer  for  his  art. 

With  these  lines,  certainly  more  poetical  than  those  of 
most  verse  colophons,  we  may  bring  this  chapter  to  a 
close. 


IV 


PRINTERS'    COLOPHONS   IN    OTHER    TOWNS 


HE  examples  already  quoted  from 
books  printed  at  Mainz  and  Ven- 
ice will  have  sufficiently  illus- 
trated some  of  the  general  features 
which  run  through  early  colo- 
phons —  the  professions  of  reli- 
gious thankfulness  and  devotion, 
and  the  desire  of  the  printer  to 
glorify  not  only  the  new  art  but  himself  as  its  most  ex- 
pert practitioner.  These  features  will  recur  in  other 
colophons  we  shall  have  occasion  to  quote,  but  there  is 
no  need  to  pick  out  many  examples  from  books  printed 
in  other  towns  specially  to  illustrate  them.  The  piety  of 
German  printers  frequently  prompted  such  devout  colo- 
phons as  this  which  Johann  Zainer  at  Ulm  added  to  his 
edition  of  the  "  Quodlibet "  of  S.  Thomas  Aquinas,  and 
the  one  example  may  serve  for  all : 

57 


58  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Immensa  dei  dementia  finitur  Quodlibet  liber  sancti  Thome  de 
Aquino  ordinis  fratrum  predicatorum  in  eiusdem  gloriam  com- 
positus.  Impressus  Ulm  per  Iohannem  czainer  de  Rutlingen. 
Anno  domini  Millesimo  quadringentesimo  septuagesimo 
quinto.  Pro  cuius  consummatione  Rex  regum  laudetur  in  se- 
cula  benedictus.    Amen. 

By  the  unbounded  clemency  of  God  there  is  brought  to  an  end 
the  book  Quodlibet  of  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  of  the  order  of 
Friars  Preachers,  composed  for  the  glory  of  the  same.  Printed 
at  Ulm,  by  Johann  Zainer  of  Reutlingen,  in  the  year  of  the 
Lord  fourteen  hundred  and  seventy-five.  For  the  completion 
of  which  may  the  King  of  kings,  for  ever  blessed,  be  praised. 
Amen. 

As  to  boasting,  there  is  more  than  enough  of  it  to  be  found 
wherever  we  turn;  but  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  collect 
some  instances  of  the  special  vaunts  of  the  prototypog- 
raphers, —  the  men  who  claimed  to  have  been  the  first 
to  practise  their  craft  in  any  particular  town, —  as  these 
are  sometimes  of  importance  in  the  history  of  printing. 
Thus,  in  the  "Lectura  super  Institutionum  libros  qua- 
tuor"  of  Angelus  de  Gambilionibus  de  Aretio,  printed 
by  Joannes  de  Sidriano  of  Milan,  we  have  a  most  precise 
statement  of  the  day  on  which  the  first  printed  book  was 
finished  at  Pavia : 

Explicit  prima  pars  huius  operis  revisa  per  me  Angelum  de 
Gambilionibus  de  Aretio  die  xvi  octobris  ferrarie.  1448.  Fuit 
hoc  opus  impressum  Papie  per  Ioannem  de  Sidriano  Medio- 
anensem  [j/V]  huius  artis  primum  artificem  qui  in  urbe  tici- 
censi  \jic~\  huiusmodi  notas  impresserit  et  istud  pro  primo  opere 
expleuit  die  xxx  mensis  octobris  1473. 

Here  ends  the  first  part  of  this  work  revised  by  me,  Angelus 
de  Gambilionibus  of  Arezzo,  16th  October,  1448,  at  Ferrara. 
This  work  was  printed  at  Pavia  by  Joannes  de  Sidriano  of 


COLOPHONS   IN   OTHER   TOWNS        59 

Milan,  the  first  practiser  of  this  art  who  printed  books  of  this 
kind  in  the  city  once  called  Ticinum,  and  who  finished  this  as 
his  first  work  on  the  30th  October,  1473. 

Equally  precise  is  Bartolommeo  de  Cividale  in  the  short 
colophon  he  adds  to  his  edition  of  Petrarch's  Trionfi,  the 
first  book  printed  at  Lucca : 

Impressus  Lucae  liber  est  hie :  primus  ubi  artem 
De  Civitali  Bartholomeus  init. 

Anno  mcccclxxvii  die  xii  Maii. 

This  book  was  printed  at  Lucca,  where  Bartolommeo  de  Civi- 
dale first  inaugurated  the  art,  on  May  12,  1477. 

In  the  "Manuale"  or  "Liber  de  salute  siue  de  Aspira- 
tione  Animae  ad  Deum"  of  S.  Augustine,  printed  at 
Treviso  in  1 47 1 ,  we  find  Gerard  de  Lisa  boasting,  with 
more  poetry,  but  less  precision  : 

Gloria  debetur  Girardo  maxima  lixae, 
Quern  genuit  campis  Flandria  picta  suis. 

Hie  Tarvisina  nam  primus  coepit  in  urbe 
Artifici  raros  aere  notare  libros. 

Quoque  magis  faueant  excelsi  numina  regis 
Aurelii  sacrum  nunc  manuale  dedit. 

Gerard  de  Lisa  may  great  glory  claim  — 

He  who  from  Flanders'  glowing  meadows  came  — 

For  in  Treviso's  town  he  foremost  was 

To  print  rare  books  by  the  skilled  use  of  brass. 

And  that  the  heavenly  powers  may  more  him  bless, 

Comes  Austin's  holy  manual  from  his  press. 

Curiously  enough,  a  year  before  Joannes  de  Sidriano  is- 
sued the  first  book  at  Pavia,  printing  had  been  inaugu- 
rated at  Mantua  with  another  work  by  the  same  not  very 


60  AN    ESSAY   ON   COLOPHONS 

illustrious  author — Gambiglioni's  "Tractatus  Malefi- 
ciorum."    In  this  Petrus  Adam  de  Michaelibus  writes  : 

Petrus  Adam  Mantus  opus  hoc  impressit  in  urbe. 
Illic  nullus  eo  scripserat  aere  prius. 

Petrus  Adam  printed  this  work  in  the  town  of  Mantua.  None 
had  written  there  on  brass  before  him. 

All  these  claims  seem  sufficiently  well  established,  but 
that  of  Filippo  of  Lavagna  in  the  "De  medicina"  of 
Avicenna  (translated  by  Master  Gerard  of  Cremona)  is 
much  less  tenable.  Here  he  says  distinctly  at  the  end  of 
Book  II : 

Mediolani  die  xii  februarii  1473  per  Magistrum  Filippum  de 
Lauagnia  huius  artis  stampandi  in  hac  urbe  primum  latorem 
atque  inventorem. 

At  Milan,  on  the  12th  day  of  February,  1473,  by  Maestro 
Filippo  of  Lavagna,  the  first  bearer  and  inventor  of  the  art  of 
stamping  in  this  town. 

We  know  that  Antonio  Zaroto  had  printed  at  Milan  a 
"  Festus  de  Verborum  significationibus  "  on  the  3d  Au- 
gust, 1 47 1 ,  while  the  earliest  date  credited  to  Lavagna  is 
that  of  his  edition  of  the  "  Epistolae  ad  Familiares  "  of 
Cicero,  25th  March,  1472.  It  is  true  that  the  pretty 
colophon  to  his  "  Miraculi  de  la  Vergene  Maria  "  tells 
another  tale : 

Dentro  de  Milano  e  doue  stato  impronta 
L'opra  beata  de  miraculi  tanti 
Di  quella  che  nel  Ciel  monta  e  dismonta 
Accompagnata  con  gli  angeli  e  sancti. 
Philippo  da  Lauagna  qui  vi  si  conta 
E  state  el  maestro  de  si  dolce  canti. 

Impressum  anno  Domini  MCCCCLXVIIII  di  xviiii  Maii. 


COLOPHONS   IN    OTHER   TOWNS       61 

Within  Milan  is  where  has  been  printed  the  blessed  work  of 
so  great  miracles  of  Her  who  ascends  and  descends  in  Heaven, 
accompanied  by  the  angels  and  saints.  Filippo  da  Lavagna 
here  is  the  speaker,  and  is  become  the  master  of  so  sweet 
songs.     Printed  in  the  year  of  the  Lord  1469,  on  May  19. 

But  this  is  another  instance  of  the  risks  of  using  Roman 
numerals  (compare  the  three  "  1468  "  colophons  cited  in 
Chapter  III),  since  the  V  in  this  date  is  clearly  a  mis- 
print for  a  second  X,  which  in  some  copies  correctly  takes 
its  place. 

A  possible  explanation  of  Lavagna's  boast  in  1473  ^es 
in  the  fact  that  he  was  by  birth  a  Milanese,  while  Zaroto 
came  from  Parma ;  so  that  if  we  may  take  the  latter  half 
of  the  colophon  to  mean  "the  first  man  in  this  town  who 
introduced  and  discovered  this  art  of  printing,"  it  would 
be  literally  correct  —  that  is,  if  we  can  be  sure  that  La- 
vagna was  actually  a  printer  at  all,  a  point  on  which  Mr. 
Proctor  was  very  doubtful.  But  to  raise  this  question  is 
perhaps  only  a  modern  refinement,  since  without  the 
help  of  the  doctrine  qui  facit  per  alium  facit  per  se  we 
must  accuse  many  worthy  fifteenth-century  tradesmen  of 
lying  in  their  colophons. 

Another  dubious  statement,  which  may  perhaps  be 
explained,  was  introduced,  amid  some  very  vainglorious 
boasting,  in  the  colophon  to  the  Oxford  edition  of  the 
Epistles  of  Phalaris.     This  runs  : 

Hoc  opusculum  in  alma  vniuersitate  Oxonie  a  natali  christiano 
Ducentesima  et  nonagesima  et  septima  Olimpiade  foeliciter  im- 
pressum  est. 

Hoc  Teodericus  Rood  quern  Collonia  misit 
Sanguine  Germanus  nobile  pressit  opus : 

Atque  sibi  socius  Thomas  fuit  Anglicus  Hunte 
Dii  dent  ut  Venetos  exsuperare  queant. 


62  AN   ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Quam  Ienson  Venetos  docuit  vir  Gallicus  artem 

Ingenio  didicit  terra  britanna  suo. 
Celatos  Veneti  nobis  transmittere  libros 

Cedite :  nos  aliis,  vendimus,  O  Veneti. 
Que  fuerat  uobis  ars  prima  nota  latini 

Est  eadem  nobis  ipsa  reperta  patres. 
Quamuis  semotos  toto  canit  orbe  Britannos 

Virgilius,  placet  his  lingua  latina  tamen. 

This  little  work  was  happily  printed  in  the  bounteous  Univer- 
sity of  Oxford  in  the  two  hundred  and  ninety-seventh  Olym- 
piad from  the  birth  of  Christ. 

This  noble  work  was  printed  by  Theodoric  Rood,  a  German 
by  blood,  sent  from  Cologne,  and  an  Englishman,  Thomas 
Hunte,  was  his  partner.  The  gods  grant  that  they  may  sur- 
pass the  Venetians.  The  art  which  the  Frenchman  Jenson 
taught  the  Venetians,  the  British  land  has  learnt  by  its  mother- 
wit.  Cease,  Venetians,  from  sending  us  the  books  you  en- 
grave :  we  are  now,  O  Venetians,  selling  to  others.  The  art 
which  was  first  known  to  you,  O  Latin  Fathers,  has  been  dis- 
covered by  us.  Although  Virgil  sings  of  the  Britons  as  all  a 
world  away,  yet  the  Latin  tongue  delights  them. 

This  is  certainly  not  a  truthful  colophon,  for  we  cannot 
believe  that  any  foreign  students  would  have  sent  to  Ox- 
ford to  buy  the  letters  of  the  pseudo-Phalaris  or  any 
other  books  there  printed,  while  the  assertion  that  Brit- 
ons learnt  printing  by  their  mother-wit  accords  ill  with 
the  fact  that  Theodoric  Rood  came  from  Cologne  to 
practise  the  art  on  their  behalf.  Mr.  Horatio  Brown, 
however,  perhaps  presses  the  fifth  line  a  little  too  hard 
when  he  asserts  that "  these  verses  prove  that  public  opin- 
ion abroad  assigned  the  priority  of  printing  in  Venice  to 
Jenson."  John  of  Speier  had  died  so  early  in  his  career, 
and  the  work  of  Jenson  is  to  this  day  so  universally  re- 
cognized as  the  finest  which  was  produced  at  Venice,  that 
the  Frenchman  may  fairly  be  said  to  have  taught  the 


COLOPHONS    IN    OTHER   TOWNS       63 

Venetians  printing,  without  claiming  for  him  priority  in 
order  of  time.  It  should,  perhaps,  also  be  noted  that 
while  Hain  and  Mr.  Brown  print  the  important  word  as 
docuit,  Mr.  Madan  gives  it  as  decuit,  from  which  it  might 
be  possible  to  extract  the  assertion,  not  that  he  taught 
the  Venetians  the  art,  but  that  he  graced  them  with  it. 
It  would  need,  however,  a  fifteenth-century  Orbilius  to 
do  justice  upon  the  perpetrator  of  such  vile  Latin,  while 
e  for  0  is  an  easy  misprint,  and  docuit  is  confirmed  by  the 
obvious  antithesis  of  didicit  in  the  next  line. 

More  important,  because  more  detailed  than  any  of  the 
boasts  we  have  yet  quoted,  are  the  claims  and  pleas  put 
forward  in  the  colophons  to  the  edition  of  the  commen- 
tary of  Servius  on  Virgil,  printed  by  Bernardo  Cennini 
and  his  son  Domenico,  at  Florence,  in  1471-72.  The 
first  of  these  occurs  at  the  end  of  the  Bucolics,  and  is  re- 
peated, with  the  substitution  of"  Georgica  "  for  "  volu- 
men  hoc  primum,"  after  the  Georgics.  The  second 
comes  at  the  end  of  the  book. 

(1)  Ad  Lectorem.  Florentiae.  vii  Idus  Nouembres.  Mcccc- 
Lxxi.  Bernardus  Cennius  [sic],  aurifex  omnium  iudicio  pre- 
stantissimus,  et  Dominicus  eius  F[ilius]  egregiae  indolis  ado- 
lescens,  expressis  ante  calibe  caracteribus,  ac  deinde  fusis  Uteris, 
volumen  hoc  primum  impresserunt.  Petrus  Cenninus,  Ber- 
nardi  eiusdem  F[ilius],  quanta  potuit  cura  et  diligentia  emen- 
dauit  ut  cernis.     Florentinis  ingeniis  nil  ardui  est. 

(2)  Ad  Lectorem.  Bernardinus  Cenninus,  aurifex  omnium 
iudicio  praestantissimus,  et  Dominicus  eius  F[ilius],  optimae 
indolis  adolescens,  impresserunt.  Petrus  eiusdem  Bernardi 
F[ilius]  emendauit,  cum  antiquissimis  autem  multis  exem- 
plaribus  contulit.  In  primisque  illi  cura  fuit,  ne  quid  alienum 
Seruio  adscriberetur,  ne  quid  recideretur  aut  deesset,  quod 
Honorati  esse  peruetusta  exemplaria  demonstrarent.  Quoniam 
uero  plerosque  iuuat  manu  propria  suoque  more  Graeca  in- 


64  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

terponere,  eaque  in  antiquis  codicibus  perpauca  sunt,  et  accen- 
tus  quidem  difficillimi  imprimendo  notari  sunt,  relinquendum 
ad  id  spatia  duxit.  Sed  cum  apud  homines  perfectum  nihil 
sit,  satis  uideri  cuique  debebit,  si  hi  libri  (quod  vehementer 
optamus)  prae  aliis  emendati  reperientur.  Absolutum  opus 
Nonis  Octobribus.  M.  cccc  Lxxii.  Florentiae. 

(i)  To  the  Reader.  At  Florence,  on  November  7,  1471, 
Bernardo  Cennini,  by  universal  allowance  a  most  excellent 
goldsmith,  and  Domenico  his  son,  a  youth  of  remarkable  abi- 
lity, having  first  modelled  the  stamps  with  compasses,  and  after- 
ward moulded  the  letters,  printed  this  first  volume.  Pietro 
Cennini,  son  of  the  aforesaid  Bernardo,  has  corrected  it,  as  you 
see,  with  all  the  care  and  diligence  he  could.  To  Florentine 
wits  nothing  is  difficult. 

(2)  To  the  Reader.  Bernardino  Cennini,  by  universal  allow- 
ance a  most  excellent  goldsmith,  and  Domenico  his  son,  a 
youth  of  very  good  ability,  have  been  the  printers.  Pietro, 
son  of  the  aforesaid  Bernardo,  has  acted  as  corrector  and  has 
made  a  collation  with  many  very  ancient  copies.  His  first 
anxiety  was  that  nothing  by  another  hand  should  be  ascribed 
to  Servius,  that  nothing  which  very  old  copies  showed  to  be 
the  work  of  Honoratus  should  be  cut  down  or  omitted.  Since 
it  pleases  many  readers  to  insert  Greek  words  with  their  own 
hand  and  in  their  own  fashion,  and  these  in  ancient  codices 
are  very  few,  and  the  accents  are  very  difficult  to  mark  in 
printing,  he  determined  that  spaces  should  be  left  for  the  pur- 
pose. But  since  nothing  of  man's  making  is  perfect,  it  must 
needs  be  accounted  enough  if  these  books  (as  we  earnestly 
hope)  are  found  exceptionally  correct.  The  work  was  finished 
at  Florence  on  October  5,  1472. 

The  references  to  the  leaving  of  blank  spaces  for  the 
Greek  quotations  (a  common  practice  of  the  earliest 
printers  in  Italy)  and  to  the  trouble  caused  by  the  accents 
are  particularly  interesting,  and  by  ill  luck  were  not  no- 


COLOPHONS    IN    OTHER   TOWNS       6$ 

ticed  by  Mr.  Proctor,  who  would  have  been  delighted 
to  quote  them  in  his  admirable  monograph  on  "  The 
Printing  of  Greek." 

Difficulties  were  natural  in  the  early  days  of  the  art, 
and  must  often  have  beset  the  path  of  the  wandering 
printers  who  passed  from  town  to  town,  or  from  monas- 
tery to  monastery,  printing  one  or  two  books  at  each.  As 
late  as  1493  one  sucn  printer,  not  yet  identified,  who 
started  his  press  at  Acqui,  though  he  was  engaged  on  only 
a  humble  school-book,  the  "Doctrinale"  of  Alexander 
Gallus,  found  himself  in  sore  straits  owing  to  the  plague 
raging  in  the  neighboring  towns. 

Alexandri  de  villa  Dei  Doctrinale  (Deo  laudes)  feliciter  explicit. 
Impressum  sat  incommode,  cum  aliquarum  rerum,  quae  ad 
hanc  artem  pertinent,  impressori  copia  fieri  non  potuerit  in  huius 
artis  initio  :  peste  Genuae,  Ast,  alibique  militante.  Emendauit 
autem  hoc  ipsum  opus  Venturinus  prior,  Grammaticus  eximius, 
ita  diligenter,  ut  cum  antea  Doctrinale  parum  emendatum  in 
plerisque  locis  librariorum  vitio  esse  videretur,  nunc  illius  cura 
et  diligentia  adhibita  in  manus  hominum  quamemendatissimum 
veniat.  Imprimentur  autem  posthac  libri  alterius  generis  lit— 
teris,  et  eleganter  arbitror.  Nam  et  fabri  et  aliarum  rerum, 
quarum  hactenus  promptor  indigus  fuit,  illi  nunc  Dei  munere 
copia  est,  qui  cuncta  disponit  pro  sue  voluntatis  arbitrio. 
Amen. 

The  Doctrinale  of  Alexander  of  Villedieu  (God  be  praised !) 
comes  to  a  happy  end.  It  has  been  printed  amid  enough  in- 
conveniences, since  of  several  things  which  belong  to  this  art 
the  printer,  in  making  a  beginning  with  it,  could  obtain  no 
proper  supply,  owing  to  the  plague  raging  at  Genoa,  Asti,  and 
elsewhere.  Now  this  same  work  has  been  corrected  by  the 
prior  Venturinus,  a  distinguished  grammarian,  and  that  so  dili- 
gently that  whereas  previously  the  Doctrinale  in  many  places 
seemed  by  the  fault  of  booksellers  too  little  corrected,  now  by 
the  application  of  his  care  and  diligence  it  will  reach  men's 


ramus  altja  rpr  rialtlf  oottuis 
ttnffiafuo  m&inr  anttotanftta 
otlirc  nmtauoiuraia  ritprt&m 
tuius  r  oirrtntca  nfftuanapon 
ttsquajiiBttarattmfitfl&amm' 
aiturrtat-  3nno  folurts  cpmtm 
ft  nonagffirao  fu|S  tsuatmngm 
tfBnmftraiUffirafi-©ftotroto 
nc  tntttDsnounnlinsnona. 

Soamtia  Cubttmfis  iQtfgrmtt^ 

iDnlli^liainoftroCoratj'raucrisnto 

^mtlit :  mgraia  minimis  matw* 

iDu]en:at««iuno!clmmopufqumfs 


iSuaniF  alias  rotrtrts  Itbta 
rumratflMm  ium  rulmra  eerie 
fir  ajffmtt  per  Rr  11c  rntlnQtmit 
inrijnKo  patrrractfcmn*  taint 
gotjatt  w  tr.olim  tpitl  SRttnr  it 
tmpmmfarts  ffarra  ffiltgtntta 
pmtratt  fittm  tammquta  pr 
tjim  roDiffs  mulra  wrcflaria  f| 
ji&tttrain  mrnnttitre  omtftritt 
« rtmtrn  trommm  ffiifncft  Wo* 
r  f  fta  lantutitnt  ar  prrfonae  tnis 
toWamulantm*£fifafel|tt* 
luOtinGi  ftpemirarro  airifc  trnl* 
mttronratomWm  tm  anffant 
gftoi&eum&iflim9  i  trite  pat 
rttros,  Wfesoitams »  Saw* 
fttt  motetti9  ttttQif  n  rrriritf  tpus 
Wsalqfip  ptmmja  ft  itfcmF 
flttntrarr  uoifs  picthts  miflalt* 
umop^totantmtratam  Wnc 
flic  ^ifncfi  UtarrCs  ijiligcn  oea 
r  afttgam  atq*  triltmtti!  b  tnim* 
Rrifi€onraJjitUaflKlofntimf 

"■■iffijtftarnsmBftaoppiWP 
tfi  ffiftunnraptofolnttttt 

,  tartrate  gratlante  ptftifrro 
mourn  tn  opptw&nufrg  pa 
et  arltntrr  fintri  iifurautt.iQS 
nmWopiisaitnoitagmamfff 
nratatff.jt  WiM  ntltuf aitgrai 
miRinitio^apriffimunitrqua 
ralitacur  tnpaotffr'  cotanbus 
mtmc  ftabrnf  it  in  otrtrnnb^  riS 

Meissen  Missal.      Freiberg:   Conrad  Kachelofen,  1495.     (Reduced.) 


COLOPHONS    IN    OTHER   TOWNS       67 

hands  in  the  most  correct  form  possible.  After  this  date 
books  will  be  printed  in  type  of  another  kind,  and  elegantly,  I 
think;  for  both  artificers  and  a  sufficiency  of  other  things  of 
which  hitherto  the  putter  forth  has  been  in  need  he  now  pos- 
sesses by  the  gift  of  God,  who  disposes  all  things  according  to 
the  judgment  of  his  will.     Amen. 

All  these  promises  may  have  been  carried  out,  but  we 
know  of  no  other  book  from  this  press,  and  it  is  more 
than  likely  that  no  other  was  issued.  Nor  was  this  the 
only  press  which  was  inconvenienced  by  the  plague,  since 
two  years  later  the  disease  interrupted  Conrad  Kachel- 
ofen  in  the  pious  task  of  printing  a  missal  at  Leipzig,  and 
caused  him  to  become  the  first  exponent  of  the  art  at 
Freiberg,  as  we  duly  learn  from  the  colophon  : 

Quanquam  alias  codices  librorummissaliumiuxtarubricam  eccle- 
sie  Misnensis  per  Reuerendissimum  in  christo  patrem  et  domi- 
num  dominum  Iohannem  f[elicis]  r[ecordationis]  olim  episco- 
pum  Misnensem  imprimi  satis  exacta  diligentia  procurati  sunt : 
tamen  quia  predicti  codices  multa  necessaria  que  presentes  in 
lucem  dedere  omiserunt  et  eorum  numerus  Misnensis  diocesis 
latitudini  ac  personarum  inibi  deo  famulantium  &  pro  libris 
huiusmodi  sepenumero  auide  inquirendum  multitudini  non  sat- 
isfacit  Ideo  Reuerendissimus  in  cristo  pater  et  dominus  domi- 
nus  Iohannes  de  Salhusen  modernus  misnensis  ecclesie  epis- 
copus,  his  aliisque  penuriis  et  defectibus  succurrere  uolens, 
presens  missalium  opus  iuxta  rubricam  iam  dicte  sue  Misnensis 
diocesis  diligenti  opera  castigatum  atque  distinctum  per  indus- 
trium  Conradum  Kachelofen  huius  impressorie  artis  magistrum 
oppidique  lipsensis  conciuem  in  oppido  eodem  inchoari :  atque 
grassante  pestifero  morbo  in  oppido  Freiberg  perfici  et  foelici- 
ter  finiri  procurauit.  Quod  quidem  opus  ad  nouarum  etiam  fes- 
tiuitatum,  pro  diuini  cultus  augmento,  institutiones  aptissimum 
erit :  quarum  historie  in  prioribus  codicibus  minime  habenturet 
in  presentibus  cum  multis  aliis  specialibus  uotiuis  missis  suo  or- 
dine  annotantur  ita  ut  hec  noua  uolumina  cum  precedentibus 


68  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

conferentes  necessaria  potius  quam  superuacanea  fuisse  animad- 
uertant.  Anno  salutis  quinto  et  nonagesimo  supra  quadrin- 
gentesimum  et  millesimum,  Die  uero  lune  mensis  nouembris 
nona. 

IOANNIS   CUBITENSIS   EPIGRAMMA 

Gallicus  hoc  nostro  Conradus  muneris  euo 

Attulit :  ingenio  dedalicaque  manu. 
Antistes  Misne,  plenus  bonitate  fideque, 

Dux  erat.    Auctorem  lector  opusque  tenes. 

Although  copies  of  the  missal-books  according  to  the  rubric  of 
the  diocese  of  Meissen  have  been  caused  by  the  most  reverend 
Father  in  Christ  and  lord,  the  lord  John  of  happy  memory,  for- 
merly Bishop  of  Meissen,  to  be  printed  elsewhere  with  suffi- 
ciently exact  diligence,  yet  inasmuch  as  the  aforesaid  copies 
omitted  many  necessary  things  which  the  present  ones  have  pub- 
lished, and  the  number  of  them  does  not  suffice  for  so  wide  a 
diocese  as  Meissen  and  for  the  multitude  of  persons  of  the 
household  of  God  in  it  who  ofttimes  eagerly  seek  for  books  of 
this  kind,  Therefore,  the  most  reverend  Father  in  Christ  and 
lord,  the  lord  Johann  von  Salhusen,  the  Bishop,  that  now  is,  of 
the  Church  of  Meissen,  wishing  to  come  to  the  aid  of  these  and 
other  wants  and  defects,  caused  the  present  missal-book,  accord- 
ing to  the  rubric  of  his  aforesaid  diocese  of  Meissen,  diligently 
corrected  and  arranged,  to  be  begun  by  the  industrious  Conrad 
Kachelofen,  a  master  of  this  art  of  printing  and  citizen  of  the 
town  of  Leipzig,  in  that  same  town,  and  on  the  approach  of  the 
plague  to  be  accomplished  and  happily  finished  in  the  town  of 
Freiberg.  The  which  missal-book  will  be  found  most  suitable 
for  the  institutions  also  of  new  festivals  for  the  increase  of  the 
divine  worship,  the  lessons  for  these  being  very  defective  in  the 
former  copies,  while  in  the  present  ones  they  are  noted  with 
many  other  special  votive  masses  in  their  proper  order,  so  that 
those  who  compare  these  volumes  with  the  preceding  ones  will 
count  them  as  necessary  rather  than  superfluous.  In  the  year  of 
salvation  1495,  on  Monday,  November  9th. 


COLOPHONS   IN   OTHER   TOWNS       69 

EPIGRAM    OF   JOHANNES   CUBITENSIS 

This  gift  French  Conrad  brought  unto  our  age ; 

His  wit  and  skilful  hand  achieved  the  task. 
Meissen's  good,  faithful  bishop  blessed  the  page : 

Of  book  or  author  need  none  further  ask. 

From  Hain  10425  we  learn  that  a  Machasor,  or  Com- 
pendium of  Prayers,  for  the  use  of  the  Italian  synagogues 
was  begun  at  Soncino  in  September,  148 5,  and  finished  at 
Casal  Maggiore  in  August,  i486;  but  to  what  this  change 
of  scene  was  due  the  colophon  does  not  say.  One  would 
have  thought  that  in  the  fifteenth  century  war  as  well  as 
pestilence  must  often  have  interrupted  the  printer  at  his 
work;  and  indeed  the  sack  of  Mainz  in  1462  was  a  very 
notable  event  in  the  history  of  printing.  Yet  the  only 
two  references  to  war  I  can  remember  in  contemporary 
colophons  hardly  view  it  as  an  interruption  —  the  first 
Paris  printers  (Gering,  Krantz,  and  Friburger),  indeed, 
tried  to  use  it  as  an  advertisement  for  their  Sallust,  where 
the  verses  at  the  end  run  : 

Nunc  parat  arma  uirosque  simul  rex  maximus  orbis, 

Hostibus  antiquis  exitium  minitans. 
Nunc  igitur  bello  studeas  gens  Pariseorum, 

Cui  Martis  quondam  gloria  magna  fuit. 
Exemplo  tibi  sint  nunc  fortia  facta  uirorum, 

Quae  digne  memorat  Crispus  in  hoc  opere. 
Armigerisque  tuis  alemannos  adnumeres,  qui 

Hos  pressere  libros,  arma  futura  tibi. 

The  King  of  France  his  armaments  and  men  is  mustering, 
Upon  his  ancient  enemies  destruction  threatening. 
Now  therefore,  men  of  Paris,  show  your  ardor  for  the  wars, 
Who  erst  won  mighty  glory  in  the  service  of  great  Mars. 


70  AN   ESSAY   ON   COLOPHONS 

Set  before  you  as  examples  each  brave,  heroic  deed 
Of  which  in  Sallust's  pages  due  record  you  may  read ; 
And  count  us  German  printers  as  adding  to  your  store 
Of  fighters,  since  this  history  will  stir  up  many  more. 

The  other  allusion  takes  the  form  of  sympathy  with 
the  sufferers  from  Turkish  oppression  and  invasion,  and 
comes  at  the  end  of  an  edition  of  the  story  of  Attila,  in  a 
colophon  which  leads  up  to  the  statement  that  the  book 
was  printed  at  Venice  by  showing  how  it  was  the  fear 
caused  by  Attila  which  brought  about  the  foundation  of 
the  island  city. 

Atila  persecutore  de  la  Christiana  fede.  Primamente  vene 
verso  aquilegia  nel  tempo  de  papa  Leone  e  de  odopio  impera- 
tore  de  li  christiani.  Laqual  cita  insembre  con  molte  altre 
cita  castelli  e  forteze  nela  fertile  e  bella  Italia  destrusse.  Li 
habitatori  de  li  dicti  luoghi  fugiendo  la  sua  canina  rabia  ad  modo 
che  nel  presente  tempo,  cioe  del  summo  pontifice  papa  Inno- 
centio,  e  di  Federico  imperatore  e  del  Inclyto  duce  Augus- 
tino  Barbadico  in  Venetia  imperante  neli  anni  del  signore  del 
M.cccc  lxxxxi  se  fuge  la  crudele  ed  abhominabile  persecutione 
del  perfido  cane  turcho  il  qual  come  e  ditto  de  sopra  abando- 
nando  le  lor  dolce  patrie  perueneno  a  le  prenominate  isole:  ne- 
lequale  fu  edificata  la  potentissima  famosa  e  nobile  cita  de 
Venetia  laqual  Idio  per  la  sua  pieta  mantenga  felice  e  prospera 
e  victoriosa  per  mare  e  per  terra  longo  tempo. 
Finis.     Impressum  Venetiis. 

Attila,  the  persecutor  of  the  Christian  faith,  first  came  to  Aqui- 
legia in  the  time  of  Pope  Leo  and  of  Odopius,  Emperor  of  the 
Christians.  The  which  city,  together  with  many  other  cities, 
castles,  and  strong  places  in  fertile  and  beautiful  Italy,  he  de- 
stroyed. The  inhabitants  of  the  said  places  fled  from  his  dog- 
like rage  just  as  in  the  present  time  (that  is,  the  time  of  the 
most  high  pontiff  Pope  Innocent,  and  of  the  Emperor  Fred- 


COLOPHONS   IN    OTHER   TOWNS        71 

erick,  and  of  the  renowned  doge  Agostino  Barbadico,  holding 
rule  in  Venice,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1491)  people  are  flying 
the  cruel  and  abominable  persecution  of  the  treacherous  dog  of 
a  Turk.  Abandoning  their  sweet  fatherlands,  as  was  said  above, 
they  came  to  the  afore-named  islands,  in  the  which  was  built 
the  most  potent,  famous,  and  noble  city  of  Venice,  the  which  for 
its  piety  may  God  long  preserve  in  happiness  and  prosperity, 
victorious  by  sea  and  land.     Finis.    Printed  at  Venice. 

Printers — though  Pynson's  head  was  broken  in  a  street 
riot,  and  Pierre  le  Dru  took  part  in  a  Paris  brawl  during 
his  prentice  days — have  usually  been  men  of  peace;  but 
despite  this  and  any  care  they  may  have  taken  in  avoid- 
ing the  plague,  they  died  like  other  men,  and  several 
colophons  record  the  death  of  the  master  craftsman 
while  engaged  on  the  work.  We  have  already  seen  the 
rather  businesslike  lamentation  of  Wendelin  of  Speier 
for  his  brother  John.  In  the  edition  of  Boccaccio's 
"Genealogiae  Deorum  gentilium"  printed  at  Reggio  in 
1 48 1,  Bartholomeus  Bruschus  (or  Bottonus)  mourns 
rather  more  effusively  for  Laurentius : 

Dum  tua,  Boccacci,  propriis  Laurentius  auget 
Sumptibus  et  reddit  nomina  clara  magis, 

Hoc  opus  aere  notans,  tunc  stirps  bottona  uirentem 
Et  quern  net  Regium  mors  inopina  rapit. 

Post  lachrymas  tandem  frater  uirtutis  amore 
Tarn  pulchrum  exegit  Bartholomeus  opus. 

Impressum  Regii  anno  salutis  M.cccc.Lxxxi.  pridie  Nonas  Oc- 
tobris. 

Boccaccio,  while  at  his  proper  cost 

Lorenzo  toiled  your  honor  to  increase, 

Printing  this  book,  the  Bruschian  clan  him  lost ; 
And  Reggio,  in  his  prime,  mourns  his  decease. 


72  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Tears  dried,  Bartolommeo  undertook, 

With  emulous  love,  to  end  his  brother's  book. 

Printed  at  Reggio  in  the  year  of  salvation  148 1.    October  4th. 

But  neither  do  these  verses  come  anywhere  near  the 
simple  pathos  of  the  colophon  to  the  "  Cronycles  of  the 
londe  of  England,"  printed  at  Antwerp  in  1493,  which 
records  the  death  of  the  famous  printer  Gerard  Leeu. 

Here  ben  endyd  the  Cronycles  of  the  Reame  of  Englond,  with 
their  apperteignaunces.  Enprentyd  In  the  Duchye  of  Braband 
in  the  towne  of  Andewarpe  In  the  yere  of  our  Lord  M.cccc- 
xciij.  By  maistir  Gerard  de  leew  a  man  of  grete  wysedom  in  all 
maner  of  kunnyng :  whych  nowe  is  come  from  lyfe  unto  the 
deth,  which  is  grete  harme  for  many  of  poure  man.  On  whos 
sowle  God  almyghty  for  hys  hygh  grace  haue  mercy.     Amen. 

A  man  whose  death  is  great  harm  for  many  a  poor  man 
must  needs  have  been  a  good  master,  and  a  king  need 
want  no  finer  epitaph,  though  the  phrase  is  full  of  the 
one  thought  which  makes  the  prospect  of  death  terrible.1 
One  rather  wonders  what  the  workmen  of  Plato  de  Bene- 
dictis  had  to  say  about  him  when  he  died;  for,  if  the  colo- 
phon to  his  edition  of  "  Bononia  illustrata  "  (Bologna, 
1494)  was  worded  with  his  consent,he  had  a  nasty  readi- 
ness to  take  all  the  credit  to  himself  and  leave  all  the 
blame  for  his  workmen. 

XA  colophon  to  Wynkyn  de  remembraunce  to  all  wel  dysposed  per- 
Worde's  edition  of  the  Lives  of  the  sones,  whiche  hath  be  translated  out 
Fathers  (Vitas  Patrum)  deserves  men-  of  Frenche  into  Englisshe  by  William 
tion  here  as  presenting  us  with  a  pic-  Caxton  of  Westmynstre,  late  deed,  and 
ture  of  Caxton,  like  the  Venerable  fynysshed  at  the  laste  daye  of  his  lyff. 
Bede,  engaged  in  his  favorite  task  of  Enprynted  in  the  sayd  towne  of  West- 
translation  up  to  the  very  close  of  his  mynstre  by  me  Wynken  de  Worde  the 
life.  It  runs:  "Thus  endyth  the  yere  of  our  lorde  MCCCCLXXXXV 
moost  vertuose  hystorye  of  the  deuoute  and  the  tenth  yere  of  our  souerayne 
and  right  renowned  lyues  of  holy  lorde  Kyng  Henry  the  Seuenth." 
faders  lyuuynge  in  deserte,  worthy  of 


Ad  Lectoretn  ♦ 

BON  Oniar:anno  falutis.M.  cccc .lxxxxim.Ex  of 
ficina  Platonis  deBenedictis  huiufce  artis  exacto 
lis  probariflimi  Li  bell  us  <|pulcherTtms  caracrheri 
bus  imprcflus  •  In  quo  Origo  /  fitufq?  Bononix  « 
Hinc  ufri  ill u fetes  :qiu  in getiio  claruerint  ram  do 
mefrici  /  §  externuTempla  quoq?  ac corpora  fane 
to  rum  ibidem  confepulta  •  Pof  rmedum  oppida  / 
uicus  /  factiones :  qua:  quondam  hie  uiguere  •  Ge 
Iraq?  Bononiendum  fub  brcuicate  conrenra: ana 
cum  illuftri  Bentiuolorum  gcnologia  connume  I 
rantur,  Sf  quid  tamen  in  eo  mends  et  erroris  ifer 
turn  fuerit:non  lmpreflbris  negligcntiarfed  poti  / 
us  famuiorum  incuria  prerermifl'um  putei.  Nam 
ille  ingeniotlitteraturaq*  no  mediccn  dotatus  l  et 
tail  exercitio  Iter  cxteros  exculciflimus  eft* 

REGISTRVM. 

abede. 

Omnes  funt  quaterni  pretet  e  qui  eft  tenuis* 

♦      ♦  *      ♦      •♦      ♦      ♦♦      •»•♦••* 
•      ***      *  *      *      •  *    •*♦    *  *    %*♦    -*» 

Bononia  illustrata.      Bologna:   Plato  de  Benedictis,  1494. 


74  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

Ad  lectorem. 

Bononiae:  anno  salutis  .M.cccc.lxxxx.iiii.  Ex  officina  Pla- 
tonis  de  Benedictis  huiusce  artis  exactoris  probatissimi  Libellus 
quam  pulcherrimis  caractheribus  impressus.  In  quo  Origo. 
situsque  Bononiae.  Hinc  uiri  illustres  :  qui  ingenio  claruerint 
tarn  domestici  quam  externi.  Templa  quoque  ac  corpora  sanc- 
torum ibidem  consepulta.  Postmodum  oppida,  uicus,  fac- 
tiones :  quae  quondam  hie  uiguere.  Gestaque  Bononiensium 
sub  breuitate  contenta :  una  cum  illustri  Bentiuolorum  geno- 
logia  [sic]  connumerantur.  Si  quid  tamen  in  eo  mendae  et 
erroris  insertum  fuerit :  non  impressoris  negligentia  sed  potius 
famulorum  incuria  pretermissum  putes.  Nam  ille  ingenio  lit— 
teraturaque  non  mediocri  dotatus  :  et  tali  exercitio  inter  caeteros 
excultissimus  est. 

To  the  Reader.  At  Bologna:  in  the  year  of  salvation  1494, 
from  the  workshop  of  Plato  de  Benedictis,  a  most  skilled  master 
of  this  art,  a  book  printed  with  very  beautiful  types,  in  which 
the  origin  and  position  of  Bologna,  its  illustrious  men,  both 
native  and  foreign,  who  have  become  famous  for  their  ability, 
its  temples  also  and  the  bodies  of  the  saints  there  buried,  more- 
over the  towns,  villages,  and  parties  which  formerly  flourished 
here,  and  the  exploits  of  the  Bolognese,  briefly  set  forth,  to- 
gether with  the  illustrious  descent  of  the  Bentivogli,  are  all 
enumerated.  Should  anything  faulty  or  erroneous  have  been 
inserted  in  it,  you  must  think  it  was  overlooked,  not  by  any 
neglect  of  the  printer,  but  rather  by  the  carelessness  of  his  work- 
men. For  he  himself  is  endowed  with  exceptional  ability  and 
literary  gifts,  and  in  such  practices  is  preeminent  among  the  rest. 

Better  than  this  is  the  frank  plea  that  misprints  in  a  learned 
book  are  very  hard  to  avoid,  put  forward  by  Anima  Mia 
at  the  end  of  a  book  by  Raphael  Regius  containing  dis- 
cussions on  a  letter  of  Pliny's  and  on  passages  in  Persius 
and  Quintilian : 

Si  quid  forte  litterarum  immutatione  :  transpositione  :  inuersione 
omissione  offenderis  studiose  lector:  id  non  ulli  negligentiae 


COLOPHONS    IN    OTHER   TOWNS       75 

sed  correctionis  difficultati  ascribas :  quoniam  nihil  verborum 
praetermissum  esse  depraehendis :  rogat  Gulielmus  Tridinen- 
sis  cognomento  Anima  Mia  :  cuius  opera  hoc  opusculum  Vene- 
tiis  fuit  descriptum.  Principe  Augustino  Barbadico  decimo 
Calendas  Iunias.      M.cccc.lxxxx. 

Studious  reader,  if  by  chance  you  find  a  stumbling-block  in  any 
alteration,  transposal,  inversion,  or  omission  of  letters,  ascribe 
it  not  to  any  carelessness,  but  to  the  difficulty  of  correction, 
since  you  find  that  none  of  the  words  have  been  omitted.  This 
is  the  prayer  of  Guglielmo  of  Tridino,  called  Anima  Mia,  by 
whose  exertion  this  little  work  has  been  set  forth  at  Venice, 
when  Agostino  Barbadico  was  doge,  on  May  23,  1490. 

From  the  colophon  of  the  Lecture  of  Antonius  de  Alex- 
andro  "  super  secundo  codicis  Iustiniani,"  printed  at  Na- 
ples by  Sixtus  Riessinger  in  1473—74,  we  learn,  though 
only  by  mysterious  hints,  that  at  least  some  printers  had 
other  enemies  besides  war  and  pestilence  to  contend 
against.  This  colophon  appears  to  have  been  written  by 
the  literary  partner  in  the  firm,  Francesco  Tuppo,  since 
no  one  but  himself  would  have  used  the  Chinese  humil- 
ity of  the  phrase  "  inter  trecentos  studentes  minimus." 
From  the  books  which  he  took  up,  Tuppo  must  have 
been  a  man  of  some  culture ;  but  his  Latin,  if  we  may 
judge  by  this  colophon,  was  not  his  strong  point. 

Finis  huius  utilissime  lecture  ordinarie  codicis  Iustiniani  Al- 
mani  In  florenti  studio  Neapolitano  impresse  per  expertissimum 
ac  clarum  Sixtum  Riessinger  Almanum,  qui  inter  sua  aduersa 
floret  uiret  atque  claret  Nee  perfidos  maliuolos  ac  uersutos  ex- 
istimat  maiora  perficiet  [j/V]  ad  gloriam  eterni  Dei  et  felicitatem 
Ferdinandi  Regis  patrie.  Et  licet  non  miniis  apparet  ornata  At- 
tamen  claret  decisionibus  et  singularibus  iurium  ciuilis  et  poli 
ut  lector  studendo  doctissimus  perfici  poterit  mendisque  caret. 
Nam  summis  uigiliis  et  laboribus  fideliter  correcta  est  per  Fran- 
ciscum  Tuppi  Partenopensem  tanti  clarissimi  utriusque  iuris  in- 


76  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

terpretis  Antonii  de  Alexandro  legum  perule  [sic]  1  inter  tre- 
centos  studentes  minimus  [sic],  Qui  una  cum  fido  sodali  Sixto 
hanc  preclaram  et  lucidam  lecturam  de  propriis  sumptibus 
sumpserunt  [sic]  Finieruntque  xxi.  die  mensis  Februarii  Anni 
.M.cccc.lxxiiii.    Feliciter.   Amen. 

The  end  of  this  very  useful  ordinary  exposition  of  the  Codex  of 
Justinian  the  German,  printed  in  the  flourishing  University  of 
Naples  by  the  most  expert  and  renowned  Sixtus  Riessinger,  a 
German,  who,  amid  his  obstacles,  flourishes,  thrives,  and  wins 
renown,  nor  thinks  that  traitors,  malignants,  and  shifty  rogues 
will  accomplish  more  for  the  glory  of  Eternal  God  and  the  wel- 
fare of  the  country  of  King  Ferdinand.  And  although  it  ap- 
pears unadorned  by  red  printing,  yet  it  is  clearly  set  forth  with 
decisions  and  single  points  of  the  civil  and  heavenly  laws,  so  that 
a  reader  by  studying  it  may  be  able  to  become  very  learned. 
Moreover,  it  is  free  from  errors,  for  it  has  been  faithfully  cor- 
rected with  the  utmost  watchfulness  and  toil  by  Francesco 
Tuppo  of  Naples,  the  least  among  the  three  hundred  students 
of  that  so  renowned  interpreter  of  both  codes,  Antonius  de 
Alexandro.  He  and  his  trusty  partner,  Sixtus,  at  their  own  cost 
have  taken  up  this  noble  and  lucid  exposition  and  have  brought 
it  successfully  to  an  end  on  the  twenty-first  day  of  February, 
1474. 

One  would  like  to  hear  something  more  about  the  trai- 
tors, malignants,  and  shifty  rogues  (perfidos,  maliuolos 
ac  versutos)  against  whom  the  colophon  declaims;  but  I 
have  failed  to  discover  any  other  references  to  them. 
The  phrase  "  cum  fido  sodali,"  used  of  Tuppo's  relations 
to  Riessinger,  raises  the  question  as  to  whether  any  real 
partnership  existed  between  them.  In  the  colophons  to 
three  other  books  their  names  appear  conjointly;  three 
more  of  later  date  (1480-89),  of  which  Riessinger  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  actual  printer,  are  stated  to  have 
been  printed  by  Tuppo.     The  point  is  of  some  little  in- 

1  Hain  put  a  sic  against  these  words,  and  I  am  unable  to  translate  them,  unless 
they  be  a  misprint  for  "legum  periti" — skilled  in  the  law. 


COLOPHONS    IN    OTHER   TOWNS       77 

terest  as  possibly  throwing  some  light  on  the  vext  ques- 
tion of  who  were  the  "  fidelissimi  Germani"  who  printed 
Tuppo's  Aesop  in  1485,  and  also  in  the  same  year  the 
account  of  the  process  of  King  Ferdinand  against  his  re- 
bellious nobles.  As  to  this  Mr.  Proctor  wavered  between 
the  claims  of  Johann  Tresser  and  Martin  of  Amsterdam 
on  the  one  hand,  and  "  Matthias  of  Olmutz  and  his  Ger- 
man workmen  "  on  the  other.  (See  his  Index,  p.  450, 
and  "  CCC  Notable  Books,"  pp.  1 07  sq.)  But  Riessinger 
also  was  a  German,  and  from  his  relations  both  to  Tuppo 
and  to  the  king  (of  whom  he  calls  himself,  in  the  "Super 
feudis  "  of  Andreas  de  Ysernia  in  1477,  the  "devotus 
atque  fidelis  servus")  seems  to  have  some  claim  to  consid- 
eration. The  phrase  "fidelissimi  Germani"  is  in  itself  a 
very  curious  one,  as  it  leaves  us  wondering  whether  they 
were  "fidelissimi"  in  the  abstract,  or  to  one  another,  or 
to  the  king.  If  to  one  another,  we  may  find  a  parallel  in 
the  frequency  with  which  John  of  Cologne  and  Manthen 
of  Gerretzem  proclaim  their  loyalty  to  each  other.  Thus 
in  their  first  dated  book,  the  Sallust  of  23d  March,  1474, 
we  find  them  writing: 

Haec  Crispi  Sallustii  opera  quam  optime  emendata  Venetiis 
fuere  impressa,  ductu  et  impensa  Iohannis  Colonie  Agripi- 
nensis,  necnon  Iohannis  Manthen  de  Gherretsem,  qui  una 
fideliter  uiuunt.  Anno  a  natali  Christi  M.cccc.lxxiiii.  die 
xxiii  Martii. 

These  works  of  Crispus  Sallustius,  most  excellently  corrected, 
were  printed  at  Venice  under  the  guidance  and  at  the  expense 
of  Johann  of  Koln  and  also  of  Johann  Manthen  of  Gherret- 
sem, who  loyally  live  together.  In  the  year  from  the  birth  of 
Christ  1474,  on  the  twenty-third  day  of  March. 

As  another  example  we  may  take  their  Bartolus  of  1 476, 
where  a  phrase  of  the  same  kind  is  followed  by  another 
of  some  interest: 


78  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Finis  partis  prime  Bartholi  super  ff.  nouum  que  peroptime 
emendata  Venetiis  impressionem  habuit  impensis  Iohannis  de 
Colonia  sociique  eius  Iohannis  manthen  de  Gerretzem:  qui  vna 
fideliter  degentes  ipsius  laboratores  conduxerunt.  Anno  M.- 
CCCC.LXXVI. 

The  end  of  the  first  part  of  Bartolus  on  the  New  Digest,  which 
has  been  very  excellently  corrected  and  printed  at  Venice  at  the 
expense  of  John  of  Cologne  and  of  his  partner  Johann  Man- 
then  of  Gerretzheim,  who,  loyally  living  together,  have  hired 
the  workmen  engaged  on  it.    In  the  year  1476. 

While  many  publishers  pure  and  simple  took  to  them- 
selves the  credit  of  being  their  own  printers,  these  careful 
statements  on  the  part  of  the  loyal  partners,  that  their 
function  has  been  that  of  superintendence  and  finance 
(ductu  et  impensa),  and  as  to  the  hiring  of  the  workmen 
(laboratores  conduxerunt),  are  rather  notable.  When 
John  of  Cologne  joined  with  Jenson  and  others  as  pub- 
lishers in  employing  Johann  Herbort  of  Seligenstadt  to 
print  for  them,  he  still  carried  with  him  one  of  his  old 
phrases — witness  this  typical  colophon  from  the  "  Super 
Decretis"  of  Guido  de  Baysio,  148 1: 

£xacmminli5iicbocatq3pd3mopu0  mtctuaufpitijs 
ppamop  3oamus  oe  Colonic  IRtcolai  icnfon  fodorauc 
l£)ui  no  tni  fumma  carl  adbibucrc  at  lint  bee  %  foa  qtto& 
fine  m'cio  z  ma\dz.mvicttim  at  bene  Tint  datowata  at$  in 
cuudiirimolittcra^carattercprcctautumaiiqj^dclTepoP 
ftiUioblectare:inozepoetica*ip2odeJTcuoIuiUzodcaarc 
poete.  femufceaatopmDarttfcrctttorumu^mbacarte 
mgr  jfolnes  oe  Selgenftataleman^qaifaafoleitia  acui/ 
$fl«0  ouioqj  impnmSdi  caraoere  fade  fugeminet  <>&♦ 
&ly mpudtbus  ofuas  /Bum  mo  milldimo.cccc  ixm 
fotiasiionaoapitot 

Guido  de  Baysio.    Super  Decretis.    Venice:    John  of  Cologne  and 
Nicolas  Jenson,  1 48 1 . 


COLOPHONS    IN    OTHER   TOWNS       79 

Exactum  insigne  hoc  atque  preclarum  opus  ductu  auspitiis  op- 
timorum  Iohannis  de  Colonia,  Nicolai  ienson  sociorumue.  Qui 
non  tantum  summam  curam  adhibuere  ut  sint  hec  et  sua  queque 
sine  uicio  et  menda,  verumetiam  ut  bene  sint  elaborata  atque 
iucundissimo  litterarum  caractere  confecta,  ut  unicuique  pro- 
desse  possint  et  oblectare,  more  poetico,  et  prodesse  uolunt  et 
delectare  poete.  Huiusce  autem  operis  artifex  extitit  summus 
in  hac  arte  magister  Ioannes  de  Selgenstat  alemanus,  qui  sua 
solertia  ac  uigiliis  diuoque  imprimendi  caractere  facile  supere- 
minet  omnes.  Olympiadibus  dominicis  Anno  uero  millesimo. 
cccc.lxxxi.  tertias  nonas  Apriles. 

This  noble  and  distinguished  work  was  finished  under  the 
guidance  and  auspices  of  the  most  excellent  John  of  Cologne, 
Nicolas  Jenson,  and  their  partners,  who  have  applied  the 
greatest  care  not  only  that  this  and  all  their  works  might  be 
free  from  fault  and  stain,  but  also  that  they  might  be  well  fin- 
ished and  set  up  in  a  most  pleasant  style  of  letter,  for  general 
profit  and  delight,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  poets,  who 
desire  both  to  profit  and  please.  And  of  this  work  the  crafts- 
man is  the  distinguished  master  in  this  art,  John  of  Seligenstadt, 
a  German,  who  in  his  skill  and  watchfulness  and  in  the  divine 
character  of  his  printing  easily  surpasses  all.  In  the  Olym- 
piads of  the  Lord  and  the  year  148 1,  on  April  3d. 

Herbort  was  fond  both  of  the  phrase  about  the  Olym- 
piads (which  might  be  more  idiomatically  translated  by 
"  in  the  Christian  era  ")  and  also  of  his  eulogy  on  him- 
self, and  several  others  of  his  colophons  run  on  the  same 
lines.  The  pride  which  many  of  the  early  printers  took 
in  their  work  was  indeed  immense.  Of  some  of  its  mani- 
festations we  have  already  had  more  than  enough;  but  we 
may  stop  to  note  two  colophons  which  show  that  they 
sometimes  expected  their  customers  to  recognize  the 
origin  of  a  book  by  its  types,  though  they  can  certainly 
never  have  anticipated  the  scientific  investigations  of  Mr. 


80  AN    ESSAY   ON   COLOPHONS 

Proctor  in  this  field.  The  first  of  these  is  from  Hain 
*  1 06 1 4,  a  Mandeville,  of  which  I  have  never  seen  a  copy. 

Explicit  Itinerarius  a  terra  Anglie  in  partes  Ierosolimitanas  et 
in  ulteriores  transmarinas,  editus  primo  in  lingua  gallicana  a 
domino  Iohanne  de  Mandeuille  milite,  suo  auctore,  Anno  in- 
carnacionis  domini  Mccclv.  in  ciuitate  Leodiensi  et  paulo  post 
in  eadem  ciuitate  translatus  in  dictam  formam  latinam.  Quod 
opus  ubi  inceptum  simul  et  completum  sit  ipsa  elementa,  seu 
singularum  seorsum  caracteres  litterarum  quibus  impressum, 
vides  venetica,  monstrant  manifeste. 

Here  ends  the  Itinerary  from  the  land  of  England  to  the  parts 
of  Jerusalem  and  to  those  further  ofFbeyond  the  sea,  published 
first  in  French  by  Sir  John  de  Mandeville,  Knight,  its  author, 
in  the  year  of  the  incarnation  of  the  Lord  1355,  in  the  city  of 
Liege,  and  shortly  after  in  the  same  city  translated  into  the 
said  Latin  form.  And  as  to  where  this  work  has  been  both 
begun  and  completed,  its  very  elements,  the  characters  of  the 
single  letters  with  which  it  has  been  printed, —  Venetian,  as 
you  see, —  plainly  tell  its  tale. 

A  good  many  literary  mistakes,  and  the  investigations 
needed  to  correct  them,  would  have  been  spared  if  this 
quite  accurate  statement  of  the  supremacy  of  the  French 
Mandeville  as  compared  with  the  Latin  (and  also  the 
English)  had  been  generally  accepted.  What  we  are  here 
concerned  with  is  the  attention  called  to  the  fact  that  it 
is  printed  in  the  Venetian  letter.  Of  course,  even  before 
the  invention  of  printing  a  school  of  handwriting  would 
have  grown  up  at  Venice  sufficiently  distinct  for  experts 
to  distinguish  it ;  but  this  expectation  that  any  buyer  of 
the  book  would  recognize  at  once  where  it  was  printed 
is  interesting,  and  would  be  made  much  more  so  if  a  copy 
of  the  edition  could  be  found  and  the  press  identified.  In 
our  next  colophon  the  printer  expects  his  capital  letters 
to  serve  his  readers  instead  of  his  name.    This  is  from  the 


COLOPHONS    IN    OTHER   TOWNS        81 

first  Augsburg  edition  of  the  "  Catholicon  "  of  Joannes 
Balbus,  about  the  Mainz  edition  of  which  we  have  al- 
ready had  to  speak.    The  Augsburg  colophon  runs: 

Grammatice  partes  et  vocum  proprietates 
Verius  inuenies  hoc  codice :  si  quoque  queres 
Nomen  qui  libro  scripturam  impressit  in  illo, 
Tunc  cito  comperies  per  litterulas  capitales  : 
Hinc  poteris  certe  cognomen  noscere  aperte. 
Ex  Reutling  Zainer  hie  dicitur  esse  magister, 
Recte  presentis  artis  doctissimus  ipsus. 
Vt  pateat  nomen  libri  qui  dicitur  esse, 
Sumptus  de  varijs  autoribus  atque  poetis 
Katholicon,  fertur  quern  collegisse  Iohannes, 
Cui  nomen  patrium  dat  ianua,  iuncta  sit  ensis. 
Hoc  compleuit  opus  lux  vltima  mensis  aprilis, 
Dum  currunt  anni  nati  factoris  in  orbem, 
Mille  quadringenti,  quis  sexaginta  nouemque 
Adijce.    Vindelica  finitur  in  vrbe  serena, 
Quam  schowenberg  tenuit  qui  libro  preludia  dedit 
Titulo  cardineus  praeses  vbique  coruscus. 
Terminat  sed  diuus  presul  ex  Werdemberg  altus. 
Cum  paulo  secundo  papa,  imperante  fridrico. 
Deo  Gratias. 

The  parts  of  grammar  and  the  proper  meanings  of  vocables  you 
will  truly  find  in  this  codex.  If  you  also  ask  his  name  who 
printed  the  text  in  the  book,  you  will  quickly  discover  it  by  the 
capital  letters.  Hence  you  will  be  able  for  certain  to  know 
openly  his  surname.  He  is  called  Zainer  of  Reutling,  in  truth 
a  most  learned  master  of  the  present  art.  To  reveal  the  name 
of  the  book,  as  it  is  taken  from  various  authors  and  poets  it  is 
called  Catholicon,  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  compiled  by  the 
John  whose  place-name  is  given  by  Janua  with  Ensis  joined  to 
it.  The  last  day  of  April  completed  the  work,  while  fourteen 
hundred,  to  which  you  must  add  sixty-nine,  years  are  running 
since  the  Creator  was  born  into  the  world.  It  is  finished  in 
the  town  of  the  Wendels  (Augusta  Vindelicorum= Augsburg), 


82  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

where  resided  he  who  gave  the  book  its  prologue,  Schowen- 
berg,  called  Cardineus,  a  distinguished  moderator  ;  and  it  is  fin- 
ished by  a  divine  president  who  comes  from  Werdenberg,  Paul 
II  being  pope  and  Frederick  emperor.    Thanks  be  to  God. 

Not  every  one  could  be  expected,  even  at  a  time  when 
interest  in  the  new  art  must  have  been  very  keen,  to  iden- 
tify the  printer  of  a  book  from  the  type  or  initials  used 
in  it;  and,  as  has  already  been  noted,  the  whole  reason  for 
the  existence  of  printers'  colophons  was  to  identify  the 
master-craftsman  with  any  book  of  which  he  was  proud, 
and  so  to  advertise  his  firm.  To  make  this  advertisement 
more  conspicuous  many  printers  add  their  device  at  the 
end  of  the  colophon,  and  five  or  six  of  them  call  special 
attention  to  this  in  their  colophons,  Peter  Schoeffer  lead- 
ing the  way  in  this,  as  already  noted.  Suis  consignando 
scutis  and  cujus  arma  signantur  are  the  phrases  Schoeffer 
used  (see  Hain,  7885,  7999,  8006),  and  Wenssler  of 
Basel,  who  was  often  on  the  lookout  to  follow  SchoefTer's 
leads,  followed  him  also  in  this.  The  elaborate  praise  of 
his  own  work,  which  we  find  in  his  1 477  edition  of  the 
Sixth  Book  of  the  Decretals  by  Boniface  VIII,  is  of  a 
piece  with  this  desire  to  hall-mark  it  as  his  own  by  affix- 
ing his  device : 

P  zeflcsfcpe vtbesk&oz  ftubtofe  Kbdlos 
h  U05  ctiam  gaubcs  connu  met  arc  tuis 
%  i  f  ucrf  t  nitibi  t  crfi  fi  bogmata  bigna 
C  otitmcant'afitlitcra*vcta*bona* 
D  ifpereamnifi  muem'asbec  omia  hi  iftis 
fit  uospzcffit  Wcntyere  tngciriofa  mamia 
§1  am  quecuncgf  uit  hoc  toto  cobicc  pzcfla 
IL  itcra«folicito(cfta(abc:cfuit 


COLOPHONS    IN    OTHER   TOWNS        83 

^nfignc  ct  cdebratiffinw  op?  6onif actj  octa* 
tii  quob  fc^ctti  bcctetafiii  ajpdlant  ^npdarifli 
mavrbc&afilicfi  mgenio  a  artcAVicbadts 
W^rslczs^mpzcflu/gloriorofauctcbco  fii* 
is  cofignanbo  fcutig/  fdicif:  eft  f itwtu  Anno  to 
mini  feptuagefimofepthnopoft  miilefimu  et  q 
frritisentefimum  quarto  p&us  Deccmbris  ♦ 


Boniface  VIII.      Decretals.     Basel:   M.  Wenssler,  1477. 

Pressos  sepe  vides  lector  studiose  libellos 
Quos  etiam  gaudes  connumerare  tuis. 
Si  fuerint  nitidi,  tersi,  si  dogmata  digna 
Contineant  et  sit  litera  vera  bona. 
Dispeream  nisi  inuenias  hec  omnia  in  istis 
Quos  pressit  Wenszlers  ingeniosa  manus. 
Nam  quecunque  fuit  hoc  toto  codice  pressa 
Litera  solicito  lecta  labore  fuit. 

Insigne  et  celebratissimum  opus  Bonifacii  octaui  quod  sextum 
decretalium  appellant  In  preclarissima  vrbe  Basiliensi  ingenio 
et  arte  Michaelis  Wenszlers  Impressum,  glorioso  fauente  deo 
suis  consignando  scutis,  feliciter  est  finitum  Anno  domini  sep- 
tuagesimo  septimo  post  millesimum  et  quadringentesimum 
quarto  ydus  Decembris. 


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COLOPHONS    IN    OTHER    TOWNS        85 

Student,  you  oft  must  see  a  printed  book 
And  think  how  well  upon  your  shelves  't  would  look: 
The  print  of  shining  black,  the  page  pulled  clean, 
A  worthy  text,  and  misprints  nowhere  seen ! 
Where  Wenssler's  skilful  hand  the  work  has  printed 
I  '11  die  for  it  if  of  these  charms  you  're  stinted; 
For  throughout  all  this  book  no  single  letter 
Has  'scaped  his  reader's  care  to  make  it  better. 

The  notable  and  most  celebrated  work  of  Boniface  VIII, 
which  is  called  the  Sixth  of  the  Decretals,  printed  in  the  re- 
nowned city  of  Basel  by  the  skill  and  art  of  Michael  Wenssler, 
by  the  favor  of  the  glorious  God,  marked  with  the  printer's 
shields,  has  come  happily  to  an  end,  in  the  year  of  the  Lord 
1477,  on  December  12. 

So,  in  1475,  Sensenschmidt  and  Frisner  at  Nuremberg  is- 
sued their  Latin  Bible  "suis  signis  annotatis";  and  at  Co- 
logne, in  1476,  Conrad  Winters  ends  an  edition  of  the 
"Fasciculus  Temporum":  "Impressum  per  me  Conra- 
dum  de  Hoemberch  meoque  signeto  signatum"  (printed 
by  me,  Conrad  de  Hoemberch,  and  signed  with  my  sig- 
net) ;  and  in  the  same  year  we  find  Veldener  at  Louvain 
using  nearly  the  same  phrase  (proprio  signeto  signata)  in 
his  edition  of  the  "Fasciculus  Temporum."1  As  an  amus- 
ing variation  on  this  we  have  the  custom  adopted  by  John 

1Impressa   est   hec  presens  cronica  The    present    chronicle,    which    is 

que    fasciculus    temporum    dicitur    in  called  the  "Fasciculus  Temporum," 

florentissima  vniuersitate  louaniensi  ac  printed  in  the  most  flourishing  university 

sicut  propriis  cuiusdam  deuoti  carthu-  of  Louvain  and  in  like  manner  as  it  was 

siensis,  viri   historiarum    studiosissimi,  compiled  by  the  very  hands  of  a  de- 

manibus,  a  mundi  inicio  vsque  ad  sixti  vout  Carthusian,  a  most  zealous  student 

huius  nomine  pape  quarti  tempora  con-  of  history,  by  me,  Jan  Veldener,  with 

texta  erat,  per  me  iohannem  veldener  the   utmost  diligence   and   at  unusual 

summa  diligentia   maiorique   impensa,  expense,  with  additional  illustrations, 

nonnullis  additis  ymaginibus  ad  finem  brought  to  an  end  and  signed  with  my 

vsque  deducta,  et  proprio  signeto  sig-  own  device,  in  the  year  from  the  Lord's 

nata,    Sub    anno   a    natiuitate    domini  nativity  1476,  on  the  fourth  day  before 

.  M.cccc.lxxvi.  quarto  kalendas  ianua-  theKalendsof  January  (December  29), 

rias  secundum  stilum  romane  curie,  de  by  the  style  of  the  Roman  court.    For 

quo  sit  deus  benedictus.      Amen.  which  God  be  blessed.      Amen. 


86  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

and  Conrad  of  Westphalia,  in  some  of  the  books  they 
printed  at  Louvain,  of  placing  their  own  portraits  after 
their  colophons  and  referring  to  them  as  their  "  solitum 
signum."  Thus  in  an  edition  of  Laet's  "  Pronosticationes 
euentuum  futurorum  anni  lxxvi"  John  of  Westphalia 
writes  in  this  very  interesting  fashion : 

Hec  ego  Ioannes  de  Paderborne  in  Westfalia,  florentissima  in 
uniuersitate  Louaniensi  residens,  ut  in  manus  uenerunt  impri- 
mere  curaui :  nonnullorum  egregiorum  uirorum  desideriis  ob- 
secutus,  qui  prenominatum  pronosticantem  futura  uere,  inculto 
quamuis  stilo,  compluribus  annis  prenunciasse  ferunt.  Non  re- 
uera  quo  utilitatem  magnam  ipse  consequerer  (utilius  enim  opus 
earn  ob  rem  suspendi)  sed  quo  simul  plurimorum  comodis  ac 
uoluptati  pariter  inseruiens,  stilum  meum  nouum,  quo  posthac 
maiori  et  minori  in  uolumine  uti  propono,  signi  mei  testimonio 
curiosis  ac  bonarum  rerum  studiosis  palam  facerem. 

These  things  have  I,  John  of  Paderborn  in  Westphalia,  residing 
in  the  most  flourishing  University  of  Louvain,  caused  to  be 
printed  as  they  came  to  hand,  following  the  desires  of  some  noble 
gentlemen  who  say  that  the  aforesaid  prognosticator  has  in  many 
years  truly  foretold  future  things,  though  in  an  uncultivated 
style.  Of  a  truth  my  object  was  not  to  obtain  any  great  ad- 
vantage for  myself  (for  I  held  over,  on  account  of  this,  a  more 
profitable  work),  but  that,  while  at  the  same  time  serving  alike 
the  convenience  and  pleasure  of  many,  I  might  make  publicly 
known  to  the  curious  and  connoisseurs  my  new  style  which 
hereafter,  both  in  greater  and  smaller  size,  I  propose  to  use  as  a 
witness  of  my  sign. 

Laet's  Prognostications  were  the  Moore's  Almanacs  of 
the  fifteenth  century,  and  by  putting  his  new  device 
(which  he  used  again  about  the  same  time  in  the  "  Bre- 
viarium  super  codice  "  of  Iohannes  Faber)  on  such  a 
publication  John  of  Westphalia  secured  a  wide  adver- 
tisement. 


COLOPHONS    IN    OTHER   TOWNS        87 

The  arts  of  advertisement  must  assuredly  have  been 
needed  by  the  early  printers  when  they  came  as  strangers 
and  aliens  to  a  new  town  and  began  issuing  books  at  their 
own  risk.  Even  with  the  help  of  Latin  as  a  universal 
language,  and  with  the  guidance  of  native  patrons  and 
scholars,  pushing  their  wares  must  have  been  a  difficult 
matter.  Sweynheym  and  Pannartz  at  Rome  tried  to 
make  their  names  known,  and  to  express  at  the  same 
time  their  obligations  to  their  patron,  by  a  set  of  verses 
which  recur  frequently  in  their  books  : 

Afptcif  illuffcnf  [ecftor  qutcunq?  libelfof 

Si  cupif  araficum  nomina  noflc;Iege* 

AXpera  ndebifcognonunaTeutonai  forfeit 

Mittgecarfmufifmfcia  uerba  uirum. 

C6raduf  fuuejmbeym:  Axnolduf  pSnartzq?  rttagifltt« 

R-ome  impreflemnc  ralia  mutt*  ftmul. 

Pcrruf  cum  f  ratre  Francifco  Maximuf  ambo 

Huic  opertapcacam  concnbueredomum 

•M-CCCC.LXXI, 

S.  Cyprian.     Epistulae.    Rome:  Sweynheym  and  Pannartz,  147 1  (and  in 
many  other  of  their  books). 

Aspicis  illustris  lector  quicunque  libellos 

Si  cupis  artificum  nomina  nosse  lege. 

Aspera  ridebis  cognomina  Teutona  :  forsan 

Mitiget  ars  musis  inscia  uerba  uirum. 

Conradus  Suueynheym  Arnoldus  pannartzque  magistri 

Rome  impresserunt  talia  multa  simul. 

Petrus  cum  fratre  Francisco  Maximus  ambo 

Huic  operi  aptatam  contribuere  domum. 

.M.CCCC.LXXI. 


88  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

Illustrious  reader,  whoever  you  are,  who  see  these  books,  if 
you  would  know  the  names  of  their  craftsmen,  read  on.  You 
will  smile  at  the  rough  Teutonic  surnames  :  perhaps  this  art 
the  Muses  knew  not  will  soften  them.  Conrad  Sweynheym 
and  Arnold  Pannartz  have  printed  many  such  books  together 
at  Rome.  Pietro  da  Massimi  and  his  brother  Francis  have 
lent  a  house  fitted1  for  the  work. 

1471. 

Ulrich  Han,  another  German  printer  at  Rome,  adver- 
tised himself  in  many  of  his  books  in  another  set  of  verses, 
perhaps  the  only  instance  of  a  colophon  deliberately  in- 
tended to  raise  a  laugh,  which  recall  the  part  played  by 
the  Sacred  Geese  in  defending  the  Capitol  against  the 
Gauls  (Galli),  Gallus  being  also  the  Latinized  form  of 
Han's  name  (Cock). 

Anfer  Tarpeii  cuftos  Iouis :  iinde  |  q>  alis 
ConGreperes  Gallus  decidit :  ultor  adeft 

Vdalncus  Gallus i  ne  quern  pofcan?  in  ufurn 
Edocuit  pennis  nil  opus  effe  mis . 

Impnmit  ilk  die  quanta  non  fcribi?  anno  ♦ 
Ingenio  baud  noceas ;  omnia  mat  bomo : 

Cicero.      Orationes  Philippicae.     Rome  :   Ulrich  Han  [1470]  (and  in  several 
other  of  Han's  books). 

Anser  Tarpeii  custos  Iouis :  unde  quod  alis 
Constreperes  :  Gallus  decidit :  ultor  adest. 

Udalricus  Gallus,  ne  quern  poscantur  in  usum 
Edocuit  pennis  nil  opus  esse  tuis. 

Imprimit  ille  die  quantum  non  scribitur  anno 
Ingenio  :  haud  noceas  :  omnia  vincit  homo. 

1  Aptatam,  a  better  reading  than  the  optatam  of  the  earliest  version.    So,  in  1.  2, 
the  original  reading,  nosce,  has  been  corrected  to  nosse. 


COLOPHONS    IN    OTHER   TOWNS       89 

Bird  of  Tarpeian  Jove,  though  died  the  Gaul 

'Gainst  whom  thou  flap'dst  thy  wings,  see  vengeance  fall. 

Another  Gallus  comes  and  thy  pen-feather 

Goes  out  of  fashion,  beaten  altogether. 

For  what  a  quill  can  write  the  whole  year  through, 

This  in  a  day,  and  more,  his  press  will  do. 

So,  Goose,  give  over  :  there  's  no  other  plan  ; 

Own  yourself  beaten  by  all-conquering  man. 

In  addition  to  their  colophons,  the  printers,  at  least  in 
Germany,  used  many  modern  forms  of  advertisement. 
When  he  returned  to  Augsburg  from  Venice,  Ratdolt  is- 
sued a  splendid  type-sheet  with  specimens  of  all  his  differ- 
ent founts.  Schoeffer,  the  Brothers  of  the  Common  Life, 
Koberger,and  other  firms  printed  lists  of  their  new  books 
as  broadsides,  and  gave  their  travellers  similar  sheets  in 
which  purchasers  were  promised  "  bonum  venditorem  " 
(a  kindly  seller),  and  a  space  was  left  for  the  name  of  the 
inn  at  which  he  displayed  his  wares,  to  be  filled  in  by 
hand.  We  have  all  heard  of  Caxton's  advertisement  of 
his  Sarum  Directory  (most  indigestible  of  "Pies")  and 
its  final  prayer,  "Please  don't  tear  down  the  bill."  In 
1474  Johann  Miiller  of  Konigsberg  (Iohannes  Regio- 
montanus),the  mathematician-printer, issued  what  I  take 
to  be  the  first  fully  developed  publisher's  announcement, 
with  a  list  of  books  "  now  ready  "  (haec  duo  explicita 
sunt),  "shortly"  (haec  duo  opera  iam  prope  absoluta 
sunt),  and  those  he  hoped  to  undertake.  Its  last  sentence 
is  not  strictly  a  colophon,  but  I  am  sure  that  I  shall  be 
forgiven  for  quoting  it.  "  Postremo  omnium,"  it  runs, 
"  artem  illam  mirificam  litterarum  formatricem  moni- 
mentis  stabilibus  mandare  decretum  est  (deus  bone  fa- 
ueas)  qua  re  explicita  si  mox  obdormierit  opifex  mors 
acerba  non  erit,  quom  tantum  munus  posteris  in  haeredi- 
tate  reliquerit,  quo  ipsi  se  ab  inopia  librorum  perpetuo 
poterunt  vindicare." — "Lastly  it  has  been  determined 


9o 


AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 


to  commit  to  abiding  monuments  that  wondrous  art  of 
putting  letters  together  (God  of  thy  goodness  be  favor- 
able!), and  when  this  is  done  if  the  craftsman  presently 
fall  asleep  death  will  not  be  bitter,  in  the  assurance  that 
he  has  left  as  a  legacy  to  posterity  this  great  gift  by  which 
they  will  forever  be  able  to  free  themselves  from  lack 
of  books."  Shortly  after  writing  these  words  Muller  was 
called  to  Rome  by  Sixtus  IV  to  give  his  help  in  reform- 
ing the  calendar,  but  his  foreboding  was  not  unfulfilled, 
for  death  came  to  him  in  1 476,  only  two  years  after  this 
announcement  was  written. 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS 


| HE  heading  adopted  for  this  chap- 
ter is  not  intended  to  imply  that 
the  colophons  here  grouped  to- 
gether are  separated  by  any  hard 
line  from  those  already  considered, 
only  that  they  deal  with  the  pub- 
lishers' side  of  book-making,  the 
praises  by  which  the  printers  and 
publishers  recommended  their  wares,  the  financial  help 
by  which  the  issue  of  expensive  and  slow-selling  books 
was  made  possible,  the  growth  of  competition,  and  the 
endeavors  to  secure  artificially  protected  markets. 

If  colophons  could  be  implicitly  believed,  the  early 
printers  would  have  to  be  reckoned  as  the  most  devout 
and  altruistic  of  men.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  books  of  de- 
votion and  popular  theology  were  probably  the  safest  and 
most  profitable  which  they  could  take  up.  Yet  we  need 
not  doubt  that  the  thought  that  they  were  engaged  on  a 

91 


92  AN    ESSAY   ON   COLOPHONS 

pious  work,  and  so  "  accumulating  merit,"  gave  them 
genuine  satisfaction,  and  that  colophons  like  this  of 
Arnold  therhoernen's  were  prompted  by  real  religious 
feeling: 

Ad  laudem  et  gloriam  individue  trinitatis  ac  gloriose  virginis 
marie  et  ad  utilitatem  ecclesie  impressi  ac  consummati  sunt 
sermones  magistri  alberti  ordinis  predicatorum  in  colonia  per 
me  Arnoldum  therhurnen  sub  annis  domini  M.cccc.  Lxxiiii 
ipso  die  gloriosi  ac  sancti  profesti  nativitatis  domini  nostri 
Iesu  Christi. 

To  the  praise  and  glory  of  the  undivided  Trinity  and  of  the 
glorious  Virgin  Mary,  and  to  the  profit  of  the  church,  the  ser- 
mons of  Master  Albert  of  the  order  of  Preachers  were  printed 
and  finished  in  Cologne  by  me,  Arnold  therhoernen,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1474,  on  the  very  day  of  the  glorious  and 
holy  vigil  of  the  Nativity  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Examples  of  colophons  in  this  vein  could  be  multiplied 
almost  indefinitely.  That  appended  by  the  Brothers  of 
the  Common  Life,  at  their  convent  of  Hortus  Viridis 
(Green  Garden)  at  Rostock,  to  an  edition  of  the  "Ser- 
mones de  Tempore"  of  Johannes  Herolt  is  much  more 
distinctive.  Herolt's  name  is  duly  recorded  in  editions 
printed  at  Reutlingen  and  Nuremberg,  but  his  work  was 
usually  quoted  as  the  "  Sermones  Discipuli,"  and  the 
good  brothers  begin  by  commenting  on  his  modesty. 

Humilibus  placent  humilia.  Huius  gratia  rei  Doctor  hie 
precellens  supresso  proprio  nomini  uocabulo  Sermones  hos 
prehabitos  Discipuli  prenotatosque  alias  maluit  nuncupari. 
Quique  tamen,  ut  luce  clarius  patet,  de  sub  manibus  euasit  Doc- 
tor magistri.  Huic  applaudere,  hunc  efferre  laudibus,  hunc 
predicatum  iri,  miretur  nemo,  cum  certissime  constat  inter 
modernos  sermonistas  eum  in  uulgi  scientia  tenere  principatum. 
Huius  igitur  zeli  cupientes  fore  consortes  nos  fratres  presbiteri 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS  93 

et  clerici  Viridis  Horti  in  Rostock  ad  sanctum  Michaelem,  non 
uerbo  sed  scripto  predicantes,  virum  hunc  preclarum  apud 
paucos  in  conclauis  iactitantem  foras  eduximus  Arte  impres- 
soria,  artium  omnium  ecclesie  sancte  commodo  magistra,  in 
notitiam  plurimorum  ad  laudem  cunctipotentis  Dei.  Anno 
incarnationis  Dominice  M.cccc.Lxxvi.  tercio  Kalendas  No- 
vembris. 

Humble  courses  please  the  humble.  For  which  cause  this  emi- 
nent Doctor  preferred  to  suppress  his  own  name  and  have  these 
Sermons,  already  delivered  and  set  down  elsewhere,  announced 
as  the  Sermons  of  a  Disciple.  And  yet  he,  as  is  clearer  than  day, 
has  passed  as  a  Doctor  from  the  rule  of  his  master.  Let  no  one 
wonder  that  he  should  be  applauded,  that  men  should  extol  him 
with  their  praises,  that  he  should  be  preached,  since  it  is  most 
assuredly  true  that  among  modern  sermon-writers  he,  in  know- 
ledge of  the  people,  holds  the  first  place.  Desiring,  therefore, 
to  be  partners  of  this  zeal,  we,  the  brothers,  priests,  and  clergy 
of  Green  Garden  in  Rostock  attached  to  S.  Michael,  preaching 
not  orally  but  from  manuscript,  have  thought  that  this  admira- 
ble book,  which  was  lurking  in  the  hands  of  a  few  in  their  cells, 
should  be  published  abroad  by  the  printing  art,  chief  of  all  arts 
for  the  advantage  of  holy  church,  that  it  may  become  known 
to  many,  to  the  praise  of  Almighty  God.  In  the  year  of  the 
Lord's  incarnation  1476,  on  October  30th. 

Of  the  dated  editions  of  the  Sermons  this  of  Rostock  is 
the  earliest,  so  that  the  claim  of  the  brothers  to  have 
rescued  it  from  neglect  was  apparently  justified.  Their 
praise  of  printing  as  "  chief  of  all  arts  for  the  advantage 
of  holy  church  "  is  very  notable,  though  quite  in  accor- 
dance with  German  feeling.  In  the  sixteenth  century  the 
doctors  of  the  Sorbonne  were  much  more  doubtful  on  the 
subject.  The  brothers  printed  a  few  secular  works  at 
Rostock,  e.  g.  the  Metamorphoses  of  Ovid  and  Guido 
delle  Colonne's  History  of  the  Destruction  of  Troy. 
But  the  bulk  of  their  work  was  theological  or  devotional, 


94  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

and  their  desire  to  improve  their  own  sermons  seems 
touchingly  genuine  and  by  no  means  commercial. 

In  the  same  year  as  the  Rostock  brothers  printed  the 
"  Sermones  Discipuli,"  Leonardus  Achates  of  Basel  is- 
sued at  Vicenza  a  Latin  Bible  to  which  was  appended  a 
lengthy  colophon  in  praise  of  the  study  of  the  Scriptures, 
almost  the  only  eulogy  of  the  kind  with  which  I  have 
met. 

JLCutoz  qai'fquw  easfi  cbzifiume  fenrid/te  non  ptgeit  hoc  opua 
faiKtiiumihque  btblta  infatbtnmmagna  cu  anuni uoluptafc 
oeguftare:  oeguftandticK  all js  pfiiadere:  nuper  imprefliim  a 
Lecnazdo  Bafileenfi  magna  cum  ozhgentza,  m  eo  entm  fidei 
noltze  fundamentti  fitum  eft;  7  cbrzfhane  religjonie  otamic 
rad  if  ex  eo  ttbt  cogntttone;  roil  ofw:tn  qaibue  fabia  noftra 
ofiftif  Jtgendo  coparabt6:qtf  eo  Itbennus  facere  oebeaquo  in 
tarn  fetw  feculo  coaex  btc  pctofzflimus  in  Iucem  emendati'ilt 
miis  uenit  ponnficaf  us  uidehcet  fanct  iflimi  om  nfi  pope  .d. 
Xiftiqoazri  anno  qutnto/iimperijcbziilianflTf  rot  fzederict 
tcrttj  anouigefzmo  fejcro/TdndKeuendzaimni  oticig  tnclyrt 
aenetoruannopzimo. 

4DCCCCLXXVI- 

Latin  Bible.    Vicenza:  Leonardus  Achates,  1476. 

Lector  quisquis  es,  si  christiane  sends,  te  non  pigeat  hoc  opus 
sanctissimum,  que  biblia  inscribitur,  magna  cum  animi  volup- 
tate  degustare,  degustandumque  aliis  persuadere  :  nuper  impres- 
sum  a  Leonardo  Basileensi  magna  cum  diligentia.  In  eo  enim 
fidei  nostre  fundamentum  situm  est :  et  christiane  religionis  de- 
cus  ac  radix.  Ex  eo  tibi  cognitionem  rerum  omnium  in  quibus 
salus  nostra  consistit  legendo  comparabis:  quod  eo  libentius 
facere  debes  quo  in  tarn  felici  seculo  codex  hie  preciosissimus  in 
lucem  emendatissimus  uenit,  pontificatus  uidelicet  sanctissimi 
domini  nostri  pape  domini  Xisti  [Sixti]  quarti  anno  quinto,  et 
imperii  christianissimi  Frederici  tertii  anno  uigesimo  sexto,  et 
Andree  Vendramini  ducis  inclyti  uenetorum  anno  primo. 
MCCCCLXXVI  sexto  ydus  maias. 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS  95 

Reader,  whoever  you  are,  if  you  have  Christian  feelings  let  it  not 
annoy  you  to  acquaint  yourself  with  great  pleasure  of  mind 
with  this  most  sacred  work  which  is  entitled  the  Bible,  and  to 
persuade  others  to  acquaint  themselves  with  it,  as  it  has  lately 
been  printed  by  Leonard  of  Basel  with  great  diligence.  For  in 
it  is  seated  the  foundation  of  our  faith,  and  the  glory  and  root 
of  the  Christian  religion.  From  reading  it  you  will  provide 
yourself  with  knowledge  of  all  the  things  in  which  our  salva- 
tion consists,  and  you  should  do  this  the  more  willingly  because 
this  most  precious  manuscript  has  been  published  in  a  most  cor- 
rect form  at  so  happy  an  epoch,  in  the  fifth  year  namely  of  the 
pontificate  of  our  most  holy  lord  Pope  Sixtus  IV,  the  twenty- 
sixth  of  the  imperial  rule  of  the  most  Christian  Frederick  III, 
and  the  first  of  the  noble  doge  of  Venice  Andrea  Vendramini. 
May  10,  1476. 

As  a  rule,  the  books  chosen  for  praise  were  of  less  self- 
evident  merit,  notably  grammatical  works  by  which  a 
royal  road  was  promised  to  the  mysteries  of  Latin.  Thus 
an  unidentified  Strassburg  printer  (possibly  Husner,  but 
known  only  as  the  "Printer  of  the  1493  Casus  breues 
Decretalium")  recommended  his  "Exercitium  Pue- 
rorum  Grammaticale"  not  only  to  boys,  but  to  friars, 
nuns,  merchants,  and  every  one  else  who  needed  Latin,  in 
these  glowing  terms: 

Finit  tractatus  secundus  exercitii  puerorum  grammaticalis,  in 
quo  de  regimine  et  constructione  omnium  dictionum  secundum 
ordinem  octo  partium  orationis  processum  est  per  regulas  et 
questiunculas  adeo  lucidas  faciles  atque  breues,  doctissimorum 
virorum  exemplis  creberrimis  roboratas,  ut  quisque  sine  precep- 
tore  eas  discere,  scire  et  intelligere  possit.  In  quo  si  qui  gram- 
matici  studiosi,  cuiuscunque  status  fuerint,pueri,  fratres,  sorores, 
mercatores,  ceterique  seculares  aut  religiosi  legerint,  studuerint 
atque  se  oblectauerint,  Finem  grammatice  ausim  dicere  breuis- 
sime  sine  magno  labore  consequentur.  Impressum  Argentine 
et  finitus  Anno  &c  M.cccc.xciiij. 


96  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Here  ends  the  second  treatise  of  the  boys'  grammatical  exer- 
cise, in  which  a  course  is  given  on  the  government  and  construc- 
tion of  all  phrases  according  to  the  order  of  the  eight  parts  of 
speech,  by  rules  and  little  questions  so  clear,  easy,  and  short, 
and  confirmed  by  very  numerous  examples  from  the  works  of 
most  learned  men,  that  any  one  without  a  teacher  can  learn, 
know,  and  understand  them.  If  any  grammatical  students,  of 
whatever  rank  they  be,  whether  boys,  friars,  nuns,  merchants, 
or  any  one  else,  secular  or  religious,  have  read,  studied,  and  de- 
lighted themselves  in  this,  I  make  bold  to  say  that  very  shortly 
and  without  much  labor  they  will  quickly  reach  the  end  of 
grammar.  Printed  at  Strassburg  and  finished  in  the  year,  &c, 
1494. 

So,  again,  Arnold  Pannartz,  one  of  the  prototypographers 
at  Rome,  vaunted  the  "  De  Elegantia  Linguae  Latinae" 
of  Laurentius  Valla  as  affording  diligent  students  (they 
are  warned  that  they  must  bring  care  and  zeal  to  the 
task)  a  chance  of  making  rapid  progress. 


Laurcntii  Vallf  uin  eruckiflimi :  U  oratons  cianflimi 
de  Elegantia  linguae  latmae  Liber  Sextus  &ultimus 
diligent!  cmcndationc  finitus  ab  tncaroatione  dotmni 
Anno.  M.  CCCCLXX  V.  Die  uero  fecunda  mentis 
IuliuSedn.SixtoIIILPon.MaxAnno  cius  quarto. 
Hos uero  libros  impr$ (Tic  Clams: ac  d  ligentiflimus 
attrfbc  Arnoldus  Pannartz  Naaone  Germanus  in 
domo  nobdis  uiri  Petri  de  maximis  duis Roman!: 
Tu  qui  latmf  loqui  cupts:  bos  tibt  erne  librossinqbus 
legendis  fl  curam  (hidiumq;  adbibuens :  breui  tt  baud 
parumpfecifle  intelliges. 

Laurentius  Valla.      Elegantiae.      Rome:  Arnold  Pannartz,  1475. 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS  97 

Laurentii  Vallae  uiri  eruditissimi  et  oratoris  clarissimi  de  Ele- 
gantia  linguae  latinae  Liber  Sextus  et  ultimus  diligenti  emenda- 
tione  finitus  ab  incarnatione  domini  anno  M.CCCC.LXXV.  die 
uero  secunda  mensis  Iulii :  sedente  Sixto  IIII  Pon.  Max.  Anno 
eius  quarto.  Hos  uero  libros  impressit  Clarus  ac  diligentissimus 
artifex  Arnoldus  Pannartz,  Natione  Germanus,  in  domo  nobilis 
uiri  Petri  de  maximis,  ciuis  Romani.  Tu  qui  Latine  loqui  cupis 
hos  tibi  erne  libros,  in  quibus  legendis  si  curam  studiumque  ad- 
hibueris,  breui  te  haud  parum  profecisse  intelliges. 

The  sixth  and  last  book  of  Laurentius  Valla,  a  man  of  the 
greatest  learning  and  a  most  distinguished  orator,  on  the  Ele- 
gance of  the  Latin  Tongue,  after  diligent  correction,  has  been 
completed  in  the  year  from  the  Lord's  incarnation  1475,  on 
July  2d,  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  papacy  of  Sixtus  IV.  Now 
these  books  were  printed  by  a  distinguished  and  most  diligent 
craftsman,  Arnold  Pannartz,  a  German,  in  the  house  of  the  noble 
Pietro  dei  Massimi,  a  Roman  citizen.  You  who  desire  to  speak 
Latin  buy  yourself  these  books,  for  in  reading  them,  if  you 
bring  care  and  zeal  to  the  task,  in  a  short  time  you  will  under- 
stand that  you  have  made  no  small  progress. 

Perhaps  the  eulogies  of  their  own  wares  by  publishers 
reaches  its  climax  in  the  praises  by  Paulus  Johannis  de 
Puzbach  of  his  edition  of  the  "  Expositio  Problematum 
Aristotelis,"  of  which  it  is  said  that  it  will  be  useful  to 
every  creature  in  the  universal  world,  though  with  the 
wise  proviso  that  the  said  creature  must  use  great  dili- 
gence in  its  study  (cuius  utilitas  erit  omni  creature  in  uni- 
verso  orbe  que  apponet  huic  operi  studium  summa  cum 
diligentia). 

Publishers  who  offered  their  readers  a  chance  of  buy- 
ing books  like  these  naturally  posed  as  public  benefactors, 
and  in  the  colophon  to  a  collection  of  the  works  of  vari- 
ous illustrious  men  (Diui  Athanasii  contra  Arium,  etc.) 
printed  at  Paris  in  1 500  the  reader  is  informed  categori- 
cally that  he  owes  four  several  debts  of  gratitude  which 


98  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

apparently  no  such  trifling  consideration  as  the  price 
demanded  for  the  book  could  affect. 

Finis.  Habes,  lector  candidissime,  sex  opuscula,  etc.  Reliquum 
est  igitur  vt  iis  qui  hec  peperere  grati  animi  signifkationem  fe- 
ceritis.  Atque  adeo  in  primis  prestantissimo  viro  domino  Si- 
moni  Radin,  qui  hec  situ  victa  in  lucem  edenda  curauit.  Deinde 
F.  Cypriano  Beneti :  qui  castigatrices  manus  apposuit.  Turn 
iohanni  paruo  bibliopolarum  optimo  qui  suo  ere  imprimenda 
tradidit.  Nee  minus  M.  Andree  Bocard  calcographo  solertis- 
simo  qui  tarn  terse  atque  ad  amussim  castigata  compressit :  Ad 
quartum  Calendaslulias.  Anno  Millesimoquingentesimo.  Deo 
sit  laus  et  gloria. 

Here  you  have,  most  honest  reader,  six  works,  etc.  It  remains, 
therefore,  for  you  to  make  grateful  acknowledgment  to  those 
who  have  produced  them  :  in  the  first  place  to  that  eminent  man 
Master  Simon  Radin,  who  saw  to  their  being  brought  to  light 
from  the  obscurity  in  which  they  were  buried ;  next  to  F. 
Cyprian  Beneti  for  his  editorial  care ;  then  to  Jean  Petit,  best 
of  booksellers,  who  caused  them  to  be  printed  at  his  expense ; 
nor  less  than  these  to  Andrieu  Bocard,  the  skilful  chalcographer, 
who  printed  them  so  elegantly  and  with  scrupulous  correct- 
ness, June  28,  1500.     Praise  and  glory  to  God. 

In  this  book,  printed  at  the  very  end  of  the  century  in 
Paris,  where  the  book  trade  had  for  centuries  been  highly 
organized,  it  is  natural  to  find  printer  and  publisher 
clearly  separated,  both  being  tradesmen  working  for 
gain.  The  lines  for  such  a  distinction  already  existed  in 
the  days  of  manuscripts,  the  scribes  and  the  stationers 
belonging  to  quite  separate  classes,  though  they  might 
assume  each  other's  functions.  In  the  earliest  days  of 
printing  the  craftsmen  were,  as  a  rule,  their  own  pub- 
lishers ;  but  the  system  of  patronage  and  the  desire  of 
well-to-do  persons  in  various  ranks  of  society  to  get  spe- 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS  99 

cial  books  printed  led  to  divers  bargains  and  agreements. 
We  find  the  Earl  of  Arundel  encouraging  Caxton  to  pro- 
ceed with  his  translation  of  the  "Golden  Legend,"  not 
only  by  the  promise  of  a  buck  in  summer  and  a  doe  in  win- 
ter by  way  of  yearly  fee,  but  by  agreeing  to  take  "  a  rea- 
sonable quantity  "  of  copies  when  the  work  was  finished. 
The  "  Mirrour  of  the  World  "  was  paid  for  by  Hugh 
Brice,  afterward  Lord  Mayor  of  London.  Whether 
William  Pratt,  who  on  his  death-bed  bade  Caxton  pub- 
lish the  "  Book  of  Good  Manners,"  or  William  Dau- 
beney,  Treasurer  of  the  King's  Jewels,  who  urged  him 
to  issue  the  "  Charles  the  Great,"  offered  any  money 
help,  we  are  not  told.  Caxton  was  probably  a  man  of 
some  wealth  when  he  began  printing,  and  could  doubt- 
less afford  to  take  his  own  risks ;  but  other  printers  were 
less  fortunate,  and  references  in  colophons  to  patrons, 
and  to  men  of  various  ranks  who  gave  commissions  for 
books,  are  sufficiently  numerous.  Thus  at  Pescia  we 
find  two  brothers,  Sebastian  and  Raphael  dei  Orlandi, 
who  subsidized  works  printed  at  two,  if  not  three  or  even 
four,  different  presses.  Most  of  the  books  they  helped  to 
finance  were  legal  treatises,  as  for  instance  the  Commen- 
taries of  Accoltus  on  Acquiring  Possession,  printed  by 
Franciscus  and  Laurentius  de  Cennis,  i486. 

Finiunt  Commentaria  singularia  et  admiranda  super  titulo  de 
acquirenda  possessione,  quern  titulum  mirabiliter  prefatus 
dominus  Franciscus  novissime  commentatus  est  in  studio 
Pisano,  Anno  Redentionis  domini  nostri  Iesu  cristi,  M.cccc- 
Lxxx.  ultima  Iulii.  Impressa  vero  Piscie  et  ex  proprio  auc- 
toris  exemplari  sumpta  Anno  M.cccc  Lxxxvi.  die  Iovis.  I1II. 
ianuarii.  Impensis  nobilium  iuvenum  Bastiani  et  Raphaelis 
fratres  [sic]  filiorum  Ser  Iacobi  Gerardi  de  Orlandis  de  Piscia. 
Opera  venerabilis  religiosi  Presbiteri  Laurentii  et  Francisci 
Fratrum  et  filiorum  Cennis  Florentinorum  ad  gloriam  omnipo- 
tentis  Dei. 


ioo  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

Here  end  the  singular  and  wonderful  Commentaries  on  the 
title  Of  Acquiring  Possession,  which  title  the  aforesaid  Master 
Franciscus  lately  lectured  on  marvellously  in  the  University  of 
Pisa,  in  the  year  of  the  Redemption  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
1480,  on  the  last  day  of  July.  Printed  at  Pescia  and  taken 
from  the  author's  own  copy,  Thursday,  January  4,  i486,  at 
the  charges  of  the  noble  youths  the  brothers  Bastian  and 
Raphael,  sons  of  Ser  Jacopo  Gerardo  dei  Orlandi  of  Pescia, 
with  the  help  of  the  venerable  religious  priest  Lorenzo  de 
Cennis  and  Francis  his  brother,  Florentines,  to  the  glory  of 
Almighty  God. 

Another  law-book  was  printed  for  them  by  the  same  firm 
also  in  i486,  and  three  others  in  that  year  and  in  1489 
by  firms  not  yet  identified.  But  their  interests  though 
mainly  were  not  entirely  legal,  and  in  1488,  from  the 
press  of  Sigismund  Rodt,  there  appeared  an  edition  of 
Vegetius,  in  the  colophon  to  which  their  views  on  the 
physical  degeneration  question  of  the  day  were  very  vig- 
orously set  forth. 

Non  sunt  passi  diutius  situ  et  squalore  delitescere  illustrem 
Vegetium  De  militari  disciplina  loquentem,  uirum  omni  laude 
dignissimum,  ingenui  adolescentes  Sebastianus  et  Raphael  de 
Orlandis.  Quern  ob  earn  maxime  causam  imprimi  curauerunt 
ut  et  antique  uirtutis  exemplo  Italici  iuuenes,  longa  desidia 
ignauiaque  torpentes,  tandem  expergiscerentur :  cum  preter 
singularem  de  arte  doctrinam  ita  in  omni  genere  uirtutum  con- 
summatum  iudicamus  :  ut  non  solum  illius  artis  meditatione 
tyro  optimus  miles  fiat,  sed  omnis  etas  solertior,  omnis  spiritus 
uigilantior  omne  denique  humanum  ingenium  prestantius  effi- 
ciatur.  Piscie,  iiii  Nonas  Aprilis.  M.  cccc.lxxxviii.  Sigis- 
mondo  Rodt  de  Bitsche  operis  architecto. 

The  noble  youths  Sebastian  and  Raphael  dei  Orlandi  have 
not  suffered  the  illustrious  Vegetius  (a  man  most  worthy  of 
every  praise),  in  his  speech  On  Military  Discipline,  any  longer 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS  101 

to  lurk  in  neglect  and  squalor.  And  especially  for  this  cause 
they  have  concerned  themselves  that  he  should  be  printed, 
that  the  youths  of  Italy,  drowsy  with  long  sloth  and  coward- 
ice, moved  by  the  example  of  ancient  virtue,  might  at  length 
awake,  since,  besides  his  remarkable  teaching  on  his  art,  we 
hold  him  so  perfect  in  virtues  of  every  kind,  that  not  only  by 
meditating  on  his  art  may  a  tyro  become  an  excellent  soldier, 
but  that  every  age  may  be  made  more  expert,  every  spirit 
more  watchful,  finally  every  human  character  more  excellent. 
At  Pescia,  April  2d,  1488,  Sigismund  Rodt  being  the  archi- 
tect of  the  work. 

Between  1471  and  1474  Ulrich  Han  printed  a  dozen  or 
more  books  at  Rome  with  Simon  Chardella,  a  merchant 
of  Lucca,  whose  help,  if  we  may  trust  the  colophon  to 
the  Commentary  of  Antonio  de  Butrio  on  the  Decretals, 
was  given  from  the  purest  philanthropy. 

Finis  est  huius  secundi  libri  eximii  ac  celeberrimi  utriusque 
iuris  doctoris  domini  Anthonii  de  Butrio  super  primo  decre- 
talium  in  duobus  voluminibus :  quern  quidem  et  nonnullos 
diuersorum  electorumque  librorum  a  domino  Vdalrico  Gallo 
almano  feliciter  impressos  a  prudenti  equidem  uiro  Simone 
Nicholai  chardella  de  lucha  merchatore  fide  dignissimo :  sua 
facultate  cura  diligentia  amplexos :  quia  pauperum  census  diui- 
tumque  auariciam  miseratus,  ab  egregiis  uero  uiris  emendatos, 
in  lucem  reddidit  anno  salutis  M.cccc.lxxiii.  die  xv  nouembris 
III  anno  pontificatus  Sixti  IV. 

Here  ends  this  second  book  of  the  distinguished  and  most  re- 
nowned doctor  of  both  laws,  Master  Antonio  de  Butrio,  on 
the  first  of  the  Decretals,  in  two  volumes.  And  this  and  some 
of  the  divers  selected  books  successfully  printed  by  Master 
Ulrich  Han,  a  German,  have  been  financed  and  diligently  super- 
vised, in  his  compassion  for  the  means  of  the  poor  and  the  avarice 
of  the  rich,  by  the  prudent  Simone  di  Niccolo  Chardella  of  Lucca, 
a  merchant  of  the  highest  credit;  corrected  by  noble  scholars 


102  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

and  published  in  the  year  of  salvation  1473,  on  November  1 5th, 
in  the  third  year  of  the  pontificate  of  Sixtus  IV. 

Single  books,  of  course,  were  financed  by  people  of  many 
classes  and  ranks,  from  kings,  princesses,  and  archbish- 
ops down  to  the  Spanish  bell-ringer  who  paid  for  a  Le- 
rida  Breviary,  as  its  colophon  very  explicitly  sets  forth. 

Breuiarii  opus  secundum  Illerdensis  ecclesie  consuetudinem  ex 
noua  regula  editum  clareque  emendatum  per  dominum  Lauren- 
tium  Fornes,  virum  doctum,  eiusdem  ecclesie  presbiterum  suc- 
centoremque,  prehabita  tamen  ab  egregio  Decano  ceterisque 
Canonicis  eiusdem  ecclesie  licentia,  Anthonius  Palares  campa- 
narum  eiusdem  ecclesie  pulsator  propriis  expensis  fieri  fecit. 
Impressitque  venerabilis  magister  Henricus  Botel  de  Saxonia 
alamanus,  vir  eruditus,  qui  huic  clarissimo  operi  in  urbe  Illerde 
xvi  Augusti  anno  incarnationis  dominice  millesimo  quadringen- 
tesimo  lxxix°  finem  fecit.    Amen. 

A  Breviary  according  to  the  use  of  the  church  of  Lerida,  edited 
in  accordance  with  the  new  rule  and  clearly  corrected  by  Master 
Lourenco  Fornes,  a  man  of  learning,  priest  and  sub-cantor  of  the 
said  church,  with  allowance  previously  obtained  from  the  illustri- 
ous Dean  and  the  rest  of  the  Canons,  published  at  his  own  cost 
by  Antonio  Palares  the  bell-ringer.  Printed  by  the  venerable 
master  Heinrich  Botel,  a  German  of  Saxony,  an  erudite  man, 
who  brought  this  glorious  work  to  an  end  in  the  town  of  Lerida 
on  August  1 6th,  in  the  year  of  the  Lord's  incarnation  1479. 
Amen. 

We  might  have  imagined  that,  a  bell-ringer  being  some- 
times equivalent  to  a  sacristan,  and  the  sacristan  being 
often  responsible  for  the  choir-books,  the  commission  to 
print  this  Breviary  was  given  by  Palares  only  in  the  name 
of  the  chapter.  We  are,  however,  so  distinctly  informed 
that  he  caused  the  book  to  be  printed  "  propriis  expen- 
sis" (at  his  own  cost), that  no  such  explanation  is  tenable, 
and  we  must  imagine  either  that  the  bell-ringer  was  ac- 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS  103 

tuated  by  very  creditable  motives,  or  else  that  he  saw  his 
way  to  dispose  of  the  books.  On  either  view  of  the  case, 
this  bell-ringer's  edition  may,  perhaps,  rank  for  strange- 
ness with  that  of  the  poems  of  Gasparo  Visconti,  printed 
to  the  number  of  a  thousand  copies  by  Franciscus  Cor- 
niger,  a  Milanese  poet,  to  whom  he  presumably  stood  in 
the  relation  of  a  patron. 

DVLCINVS  PRO  CORNIGERO. 

NE  ELEGANTISSIMI  OPERIS  LEPOS  MELLIFLV 

VS  TEMPORIS  EDACIS  INIVRIA  TIBI  LE 

CTOR  OPTIME  ALIQVANDO  PERIRET:  AVT 

1LLVSTRISS.AVCTORIS  INCLYTA  MEMO 

RI A  AEVO  OBLITER  ARETVR  xN  E  ETI  AM 

POSTERITAS  HAC  DELECTATION  E  DE 

FRAVOATA   CVPIDINEIS  LVSIBVS 

CARERET.  F.  TANCIVS  GORNIGER 

POETA  MEDIOLANENSIS  HOS  RHI 

THMOS  MAGNIFICl ACSPLENDI 

DISSIMI  EQyiTISGASPARISVI 

CECOMITIS  LINGVAVFRNA 

CVLA  COMPOSITOS:qq  IN 

VITO  DOMINO:IN  MILLE 
EXEMPLA  IMPRIMI IVS 
SITMEDIOLANIsAN 
NOASALVTIFERO 
VIRGINIS:PARTV« 
M.CCCC.LXXXXIII. 
QVARTO  CALEN 
DASMARTIAS. 
FINIS.%« 

Gasparo  Visconti.      Rithmi.      Milan:   Ant.  Zarotus,  1493. 


104  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Ne  elegantissimi  operis  lepos  mellifluus  temporis  edacis  iniuria 
tibi,  lector  optime,  aliquando  periret,  aut  illustrissimi  auctoris 
inclyta  memoria  aeuo  obliteraretur,  ne  etiam  posteritas,  hac  de- 
lectatione  defraudata,  cupidineis  lusibus  careret,FranciscusTan- 
tius  Corniger,  poeta  Mediolanensis,  hos  rithmos  Gasparis  Vice- 
comitis  lingua  uernacula  compositos,  quanquam  inuito  domino, 
in  mille  exempla  imprimi  iussit,  Mediolani  anno  a  salutifero  Vir- 
ginis  partu  M.cccc.lxxxxiii.    Quarto  Calendas  Martias.    Finis. 

Lest  to  your  loss,  excellent  reader,  the  honeyed  grace  of  a  most 
elegant  book  should  some  day  perish  by  the  wrongs  of  devour- 
ing time,  or  the  noble  memory  of  the  most  illustrious  author  be 
blotted  out  by  age,  lest  also  posterity,  defrauded  of  their  plea- 
sure, should  lack  amorous  toys,  Franciscus  Tantius  Corniger, 
a  Milanese  poet,  ordered  these  Rhythms  of  Gasparo  Visconti, 
written  in  the  vernacular  tongue,  to  be  printed,  against  their 
master's  will,  in  an  edition  of  a  thousand  copies,  at  Milan,  in 
the  year  from  the  Virgin's  salvation-bringing  delivery  1493,  on 
February  26th.    Finis. 

No  doubt  Gasparo  Visconti  duly  repaid  the  admiration 
thus  shown  for  his  poems;  but  though  the  admiringfriend 
or  patron  was  not  without  his  uses  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  even  now  is  occasionally  indispensable,  when  all  is 
said  and  done  the  success  of  a  book  depends  on  the  recep- 
tion it  meets  from  an  unbiased  public,  and  it  is  to  the 
public,  therefore,  that  its  appeal  must  finally  be  made. 
Colophons  recognize  this  in  different  ways — sometimes, 
as  we  have  seen,  by  praising  the  book,  sometimes  by 
drawing  attention  to  its  cheapness,  very  often  by  the  care 
with  which  they  give  the  exact  address  of  the  publisher 
at  whose  shop  it  can  be  bought.  Verard's  colophons  are 
particularly  notable  in  this  respect.  What  could  be  more 
precise  than  the  oft-repeated  directions  which  we  may 
quote  from  his  edition  of"  Le  Journal  Spirituel "  because 
of  the  careful  arrangement  of  its  lines  ? 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS  105 

ffy  fittiflte  Journal  fpititwtJmpiittK  a  part' 
pour  0ormo;a6fe  flomme  ^rte^ottte  SrrarS 

tfcwrgope  marr65£(j  (tSiauc  9emo;5t 

a  parte  9eaan(fa  Vuemufue 

ntf&ame  a  fpmage  firict 

3c0at|  fmangeffffe 

on  an  pafa  i  j  Sena  ft  e  fa  r  ga 

pette  Off  f3cg(lfr  fam#  Se  me  ft 

feigttemeteepzeffienfyjZan  mit  cinq 

cemctcinq  kfoiefme  torn  QeSccemfae- 

Journal  Spirituel.     Paris:  Verard,  1505. 

Cy  finist  le  Journal  spirituel  Imprime  a  paris 

pour  honnorable  homme  Anthoine  Verard 

bourgoys  marchant  et  libraire  demorant 

a  paris  deuant  la  Rue  neufue 

notre  dame  a  lymage  sainct 

Jehan  leuangeliste 

ou  au  palais  deuant  la  cha- 

pelle  ou  Ion  chante  la  messe  de  mes- 

seigneurs  les  presidentz.      Lan  mil  cinq 

cens  et  cinq  le  seziesme  iour  de  decembre. 

Here  ends  the  Spiritual  Journal  printed  at  Paris 
for  an  estimable  man  Antoine  Verard 
burgess,  shopkeeper,  and  bookseller  dwelling 
at  Paris  before  the  New  Street 
of  Our  Lady  at  the  image  of  Saint 
John  the  Evangelist 
or  at  the  palace  before  the  cha- 
pel where  is  chanted  the  Mass  of  the  Lords 
Presidents.     In  the  year  one  thousand  five 
hundred  and  five,  the  sixteenth  day  of  December. 


106  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Occasionally  a  verse  colophon  would  be  employed  to 
tempt  a  purchaser  to  come  to  the  publisher's  shop,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  French  translation  of  the  "Ship  of  Fools" 
by  Jodocus  Badius  from  the  German  of  Sebastian  Brant, 
printed  by  Geoffroy  de  Marnef  in  1457.    This  ends: 

Hommes  mortels  qui  desirez  sauoir 
Comment  on  peut  en  ce  monde  bien  vivre 
Et  mal  laisser:  approchez,  venez  veoir 
Et  visiter  ce  present  joyeux  livre. 
A  tous  estats  bonne  doctrine  il  livre 
Notant  les  maux  et  vices  des  mondains. 
Venez  y  tous  et  ne  faictes  dedains 
Du  dit  livre  nomme  Des  Fols  la  Nef 
Si  vous  voulez  vous  en  trouuerez  maints 
Au  Pellican  cheux  Geoffroy  de  Marnef. 

Mortal  men  who  fain  would  know 
How  well  to  live  in  this  world  below, 
And  evil  quit :  come  hither,  see, 
And  with  this  book  acquainted  be. 
To  each  estate  good  rede  it  gives, 
Notes  all  the  evils  in  men's  lives. 
Come  hither,  all,  and  think  no  shame 
Of  this  said  book,  which  has  to  name 

The  Ship  of  Fools. 
You  '11  find  good  store  if  in  you  '11  drop 
At  honest  Geoffroy  Marnef's  shop, 

Where  the  Pelican  rules. 

As  to  advertisements  of  cheapness,  in  addition  to  instances 
already  incidentally  noted  we  may  take  as  our  example 
another  colophon  partly  in  verse — that  to  the  edition  of 
the  "Liber  cibalis  et  medicinalis  pandectarum"  of  Mat- 
thaeus  Silvaticus  printed  at  Naples  by  Arnold  of  Brussels 
in  1474. 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS  107 

Explicit  liber  Pandectarum  quern  Angelus  Cato  Supinas  de 
Beneuento  philosophus  et  medicus  magna  cum  diligentia  et 
emendate  imprimendum  curauit,  et  in  clarissima  et  nobilissima 
atque  praestantissima  dulcissimaque  ciuitate  Neapoli,  regum, 
ducum,  procerumque  matre,  prima  Aprilis  M.cccc.Lxxiiii. 
Idcirco  excelso  deo  gratias  agamus. 

Noscere  qui  causas  et  certa  uocabula  rerum 
Et  medicas  artes  per  breue  queris  iter, 

Me  lege:  nee  multo  mercaberis  :  Angelus  en  me 
Sic  et  diuitibus  pauperibusque  parat. 

Cui  tantum  me  nunc  fas  est  debere,  Salernum, 
Urbs  debet  quantum,  patria  terra,  mihi. 

Here  ends  the  book  of  the  Pandects  which  Angelus  Cato  Supi- 
nas of  Benevento,  a  philosopher  and  physician,  has  procured  to 
be  printed,  with  great  diligence  and  correctly,  in  the  most  illus- 
trious, most  noble,  most  excellent,  and  most  delightful  city  of 
Naples,  mother  of  kings,  dukes,  and  nobles,  April  1,  1474. 
For  which  cause  let  us  give  thanks  to  God  on  high. 

Who  'd  quickly  learn  each  ill  to  diagnose, 
The  terms  of  art  and  all  a  doctor  knows, 
Let  him  read  me,  nor  will  the  cost  be  great, 
My  Angel  editor  asks  no  monstrous  rate. 
To  whom,  Salernum,  I  as  great  thanks  owe 
As  thou  upon  thy  offspring  canst  bestow. 

No  doubt  in  this  instance  the  book  was  much  obliged  to 
its  editor  for  his  care  in  revising  it,  and  the  great  medical 
school  of  Salerno  might  justly  be  expected  to  be  grateful 
for  the  publication  of  an  important  medical  work:  the 
trouble  of  the  situation  was  that  there  were  so  many  of 
these  not  wholly  disinterested  benefactors  in  the  field  at 
the  same  time.  Editions,  it  is  true,  were  mostly  small, 
owing  to  the  slowness  of  the  presswork ;  and,  no  doubt, 
each  several  printer  reckoned  that  he  had  all  literary 


108  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Europe  for  his  market.  But  when  Rome  was  vying  with 
Venice,  and  the  rest  of  Italy  with  both,  and  almost  every 
important  press  was  turning  out  classical  editions,  the 
market  quickly  became  overstocked,  and  great  printers 
like  Wendelin  of  Speier  at  Venice  and  Sweynheym  and 
Pannartz  at  Rome  found  that  they  had  burnt  their  fin- 
gers. Hence  a  commercial  motive  reinforced  that  nat- 
ural self-esteem  which  still  causes  every  editor  to  assume 
that  his  method  of  crossing  a  /  or  dotting  an  i  gives  his 
edition  a  manifest  superiority  over  every  other.  In  the 
next  chapter  we  shall  see  how  editors  persistently  depre- 
ciated their  predecessors ;  but  we  may  note  here  how, 
even  when  he  had  Chardella  to  help  his  finances,  Ulrich 
Han  could  not  help  girding  at  rival  firms.  Thus  in  his 
edition  of  the  Decretals  of  Gregory  IX  he  bids  his  read- 
ers buy  his  own  text  with  a  light  heart  and  reckon  its 
rivals  at  a  straw's  value. 

Finiunt  decretales  correctissime  :  impresse  alma  urbe  Roma  to- 
tius  mundi  regina  per  egregios  uiros  magistrum  Udalricum 
Galium  Alamanum  et  Symonem  Nicolai  de  Luca :  cum  glosis 
ordinariis  Bernardi  Parmensis  et  additionibus  suis  :  que  paucis 
in  libris  habentur :  summa  diligentia  et  impresse  ac  correcte. 
Quas,  emptor,  securo  animo  erne.  Talia  siquidem  in  hoc  uolu- 
mine  reperies  ut  merito  alias  impressiones  faciliter  floccipendes. 
Anno  domini  M.cccc.Lxxiiii.  die  xx  mensis  Septembris,  Ponti- 
ficatus  uero  Sixti  diuina  prouidentia  Pape  quarti  anno  quarto. 

Here  end  the  Decretals,  most  correctly  printed  in  the  bounteous 
city  of  Rome,  queen  of  the  whole  world,  by  those  excellent  men 
Master  Ulrich  Han,  a  German,  and  Simon  di  Niccolo  of  Lucca: 
with  the  ordinary  glosses  of  Bernard  of  Parma  and  his  additions, 
which  are  found  in  few  copies ;  both  printed  and  corrected  with 
the  greatest  diligence.  Purchase  these,  book-buyer,  with  a  light 
heart,  for  you  will  find  such  excellence  in  this  volume  that  you 
will  be  right  in  easily  reckoning  other  editions  as  worth  no  more 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS  109 

than  a  straw.  In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1474,  September  20,  in 
the  fourth  year  of  the  Pontificate  of  Sixtus  IV,  by  divine  provi- 
dence Pope. 

If  Han  relied  on  the  superiority  of  his  work  to  defeat  his 
rivals,  other  publishers  preferred  to  have  the  advantage 
of  coming  earlier  to  market,  and  we  find  Stephanus  Co- 
rallus,  at  Parma,  actually  apologizing  with  a  very  vivid 
metaphor  for  misprints  in  his  edition  of  the  "  Achilleis  " 
of  Statius  on  the  ground  that  he  had  rushed  it  through  the 
press  to  forestall  rivals.  Of  course,  the  rivals  were  envi- 
ous and  malevolent, —  that  might  betaken  for  granted, — 
but  the  assumption  that  a  purchaser  was  to  acquiesce  in 
bad  work  in  order  that  Corallus  might  hurry  his  book 
out  quickly  only  for  his  own  profit  was  merely  impudent. 

S  i  quas  opttme  le&or  hoc  in  opcre  lituras  file*" 
ncris  nafum  pomto:  Nam  Stephanus  Corallus 
Lugdunefts  inuidorun  quoruda  matiuoletiaja* 
cefTi  t  us;  qui  idem  impnmere  tentarunt :  citiusx 
quam  afparagi  coquantur  id  aMbluittac  f fimo 
ftudio  emedatu  Ifaru  ftudi  ofi  s  legedu  tradidit 
•PARME. 
.M.CCCCLXXIILX.CAL.APRIL. 

Statius.      Achilleis.      Parma:   Steph.  Corallus,  1473. 

Si  quas,  optime  lector,  hoc  in  opere  lituras  inueneris  nasum 
ponito  ;  nam  Stephanus  Corallus  Lugdunensis  inuidorum  quo- 
rundam  maliuolentia  lacessitus,  qui  idem  imprimere  tentarunt, 
citius  quam  asparagi  coquantur  id  absoluit,  ac  summo  studio 
emendatum  literarum  studiosis  legendum  tradidit  Parme 
M.cccc.lxxiii.  x  Cal.  April. 

Should  you  find  any  blots  in  this  work,  excellent  reader,  lay 
scorn  aside  ;  for  Stephanus  Corallus  of  Lyons,  provoked  by  the 


no  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

ill  will  of  certain  envious  folk  who  tried  to  print  the  same  book, 
finished  it  more  quickly  than  asparagus  is  cooked,  corrected  it 
with  the  utmost  zeal,  and  published  it,  for  students  of  literature 
to  read,  at  Parma,  March  23,  1473. 

When  publishers  were  as  ready  as  this  to  forestall  each 
other,  a  cry  for  some  kind  of  regulation  of  the  industry 
was  sure  to  be  raised,  and  at  Venice,  the  greatest  book- 
mart  in  the  world,  regulation  came  in  the  form  of  the 
privilege  and  spread  thence  to  various  countries  of  Eu- 
rope. I  do  not  at  all  agree  with  the  opinion  which  Mr. 
Gordon  Duff  has  expressed  so  strongly,  that  the  power  of 
freely  importing  books  given  by  Richard  III  was  by  any 
means  an  unmixed  blessing,  or  that  its  revocation  by 
Henry  VIII  fifty  years  later  had  disastrous  effects  on 
English  printing.  Printing  started  late  in  England  and 
was  handicapped  by  the  impoverishment  wrought  by  the 
Wars  of  the  Roses.  The  facility  with  which  all  learned 
books  were  supplied  from  abroad  quickened  the  growth 
of  English  learning,  but  restricted  the  English  printers 
to  printing  and  reprinting  a  few  vernacular  books  of 
some  literary  pretensions  and  an  endless  stream  of  works 
of  popular  devotion  and  catch-penny  trifles.  Neither 
Oxford  nor  Cambridge  could  support  a  permanent 
printer,  and  English  scholars  were  obliged  to  have  their 
books  printed  abroad.  Nevertheless,  free  trade,  how- 
ever hardly  it  might  press  on  a  backward  industry,  was 
infinitely  better  than  the  privilege  system,  which  was 
altogether  haphazard  and  liable  to  gross  abuse.  For 
the  story  of  its  introduction  and  development  at  Venice, 
the  reader  must  be  referred  to  Mr.  Horatio  Brown's 
"The  Venetian  Printing  Press"  (Nimmo,  1891),  a 
book  which  leaves  a  good  deal  to  be  desired  on  its  purely 
typographical  side,  but  which  is  quite  admirable  as  re- 
gards the  regulation  of  the  industry.    Our  concern  here 


PUBLISHERS'    COLOPHONS  m 

is  only  with  the  privileges  in  so  far  as  they  make  their 
appearance  in  colophons.  The  earliest  colophon  in 
which  I  have  found  allusion  to  them  is  six  years  later 
than  the  first  grant  which  Mr.  Brown  records,  that  to 
Marc'  Antonio  Sabellico  in  September,  i486,  for  his 
"  Decades  rerum  Venetarum,"  printed  by  Andrea  de 
Torresani  in  1487  (Hain  *  14053).  By  1492  the  sys- 
tem must  have  been  in  full  swing,  as  is  shown  by  this 
colophon  to  the  "Liber  Regalis"  of  Albohazen  Haly, 
printed  by  Bernardinus  Ricius: 

Impressum  Venetiis  die  25  Septembris,  1492,  opera  Bernardini 
Ricii  de  Nouaria,  impensa  vero  excellentissimi  artium  et  medi- 
cine doctoris  domini  magistri  Ioannis  dominici  de  Nigro,  qui 
obtinuit  ex  speciali  gratia  ab  illustrissimo  ducali  dominio  Vene- 
torum  Quod  nemini,  quicumque  fuerit,  liceat  tam  Venetiis 
quam  in  universa  ditione  Veneto  dominio  subiecta,  imprimere 
seu  imprimi  facere  hunc  librum,  aut  alibi  impressum  in  predicta 
ditione  vendere,  per  X  annos,  sub  pena  immediate  et  irremissi- 
bilis  omnium  librorum,  et  librarum  quinquaginta  pro  quolibet 
volumine.  Que  quidem  pena  applicetur  recuperationi  Montis 
Noui. 

Printed  at  Venice  on  September  25,  1492,  by  the  pains  of 
Bernardinus  Ricius  of  Novara,  at  the  expense  of  the  most  ex- 
cellent doctor  of  arts  and  medicine,  Master  Giovanni  Dominico 
di  Nigro,  who  obtained,  by  special  grace,  from  the  most  illustri- 
ous dogal  government  of  the  Venetians  that  no  one  soever 
should  be  allowed,  either  at  Venice  or  in  the  entire  dominion 
subject  to  the  Venetian  government,  himself  to  print  this  book 
or  cause  it  to  be  printed,  or  to  sell  in  the  aforesaid  dominion 
a  copy  printed  elsewhere,  for  ten  years,  under  the  penalty  of 
the  immediate  and  irremissible  forfeiture  of  all  the  books,  and 
a  fine  of  fifty  lire  for  any  volume,  the  penalty  to  be  applied  to 
the  restoration  of  the  Monte  Novo. 

The  three  points  as  to  the  duration  of  the  privilege,  the 
amount  of  the  fine,  and  the  charity  to  which  it  was  to  be 


ii2  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

applied  are  here  stated  quite  plainly,  but  many  publishers 
preferred  to  leave  the  amount  of  the  penalty  mysterious 
by  substituting  a  reference  to  the  grace  itself,  as  for  in- 
stance is  the  case  in  the  edition  of  Hugo  de  S.  Caro's 
"Postilla  super  Psalterium,"  printed  by  the  brothers 
Gregorii  in  1496. 

Et  sic  est  finis  huius  utilis  et  suauis  postille  super  totum  psal- 
terium. Impressa  autem  fuit  Venetiis  per  Iohannem  et  Gre- 
gorium  de  Gregoriis  fratres,  impensis  Stefani  et  Bernardini  de 
Nallis  fratrum,suasu  reuerendissimi  patris  et  predicatoris  egregii 
fratris  Dominici  Ponzoni.  Habita  tamen  gratia  ab  excelso 
Venetorum  dominio  ne  quis  per  decennium  primum  imprimere 
possit  aut  imprimi  facere  seu  alibi  impressam  vendere  per 
totum  dominium  &c.  sub  penis  &c.  prout  in  ipsa  gratia  plenius 
continetur.     Completa  uero  fuit  die  12  Nouembris,  1496. 

Thus  ends  this  useful  and  delightful  lecture  on  the  whole 
Psalter.  And  it  was  printed  at  Venice  by  the  brothers  Gio- 
vanni and  Gregorio  dei  Gregorii,  at  the  expense  of  the  bro- 
thers Stefano  and  Bernardino  dei  Nalli,  on  the  persuasion  of  the 
most  reverend  father  and  preacher,  the  noble  brother  Dominico 
Ponzoni.  Grace  was  granted  by  the  exalted  government  of  the 
Venetians  that  no  one  for  the  first  ten  years  should  print  it, 
or  cause  it  to  be  printed,  or  sell  a  copy  printed  elsewhere, 
throughout  the  whole  dominion,  &c,  under  penalty,  &c,  as  is 
more  fully  contained  in  the  grace  itself.  And  it  was  finished 
on  November  12,  1496. 

The  Gregorii  followed  the  same  course,  in  their  1498 
edition  of  S.  Jerome's  Commentary  on  the  Bible,  a  work 
(rather  condescendingly  praised  by  the  printers)  which  it 
is  amazing  to  find  on  the  privileged  list  at  all. 

Habes  itaque,  studiosissime  lector,  Ioannis  et  Graegorii  de  Gre- 
goriis fretus  officio,  ea  nouiter  impraessa  commentaria :  Vnde 
totius   ueteris  et  noui  testamenti  ueritatem  rectumque  sensum 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS  113 

quam  facillime  appraehendere  possis :  quae  si  tuae  omnino  bib- 
liotecae  ascripseris  magnam  consequeris  uoluptatem,maioresque 
in  dies  fructus  suscipies.  Venetiis  per  praefatos  fratres  Ioan- 
nem  et  Gregorium  de  Gregoriis,  Anno  domini  1498,  die  25 
Augusti.  Cum  priuilegio  quod  nullus  citra  decern  annos  ea  im- 
primere  ualeat  nee  alibi  impressa  in  terras  excellentissimo  uene- 
torum  dominio  subditas  uenalia  afferre  possit  sub  poenis  in  ipso 
contends. 

Thus  you  have,  most  studious  reader,  thanks  to  the  good  offices 
of  Giovanni  and  Gregorio  dei  Gregorii,  these  commentaries 
newly  printed,  whence  you  can  very  easily  apprehend  the  truth 
and  right  meaning  of  all  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  and  by 
adding  these  to  your  library  you  will  obtain  a  great  pleasure 
and  receive  daily  greater  profit.  At  Venice  by  the  aforesaid 
brothers  Giovanni  and  Gregorio  dei  Gregorii.  With  a  privi- 
lege that  no  one  within  ten  years  may  print  them  or  bring  for 
sale  copies  printed  elsewhere  into  territories  subject  to  the  most 
excellent  government  of  the  Venetians,  under  the  penalties 
therein  contained. 

The  instances  we  have  quoted  so  far  are  of  references  in 
colophons  to  privileges  granted  to  the  printer-publishers. 
They  were  granted  also  (as  in  the  case  of  Sabellico)  to  au- 
thors, and  from  his  translation  of  Seneca's  plays  we  learn 
that  Evangelio  Fossa  obtained  from  the  Senate  protection 
for  all  his  writings. 

Finisse  la  nona  Tragedia  di  Senecha  ditta  Agamemnone  in  uul- 
gare  composta  per  el  uenerabile  FrateEuangelista  Fossa  da  Cre- 
mona. Impressa  in  Venesia  per  Maestro  piero  bergamascho  a 
le  spese  de  zuan  antonio  de  Monsera.  Nel  anno  M.cccc- 
lxxxxvii.  adi  xxviii  zenaro.  El  Venerabile  Frate  Euangelista 
Fossa  compositore  de  la  presente  opera  a  Impetrado  gratia  che 
nesuno  possa  imprimere  ne  far  imprimere  opera  chel  compona 
hie  per  anni  x.  poi  che  la  hara  data  fora,  sotto  pena  da  ducati  x. 
per  ogni  uolume  come  apare  nella  gratia.    Amen. 


ii4  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Here  ends  the  ninth  Tragedy  of  Seneca,  called  Agamemnon, 
composed  in  the  vulgar  tongue  by  the  venerable  Brother  Evan- 
gelista  Fossa  of  Cremona.  Printed  in  Venice  by  Master  Piero 
Bergamascho  at  the  expense  of  Juan  Antonio  of  Monsera.  In 
the  year  1497  on  the  twenty-eighth  day  of  January.  The  ven- 
erable Brother  Evangelista  Fossa,  the  composer  of  the  present 
work,  has  obtained  a  grace  that  no  one  may  print  or  cause  to  be 
printed  a  work  of  his  composition  for  ten  years  after  his  publica- 
tion of  it,  under  penalty  of  ten  ducats  for  every  volume,  as  ap- 
pears in  the  grace.    Amen. 

Privileges  were  obtainable  not  only  by  publishers  in  Ven- 
ice itself,  but  also  by  those  in  the  towns  under  Venetian 
rule,  and  the  two  following  examples  are  taken  respec- 
tively from  a  Quadragesimale  printed  by  Angelus  Bri- 
tannicus  at  Brescia  in  1497,  an(*  a  Martianus  Capella 
printed  by  Henricus  de  Sancto  Urso  at  Vicenza  in  1499. 

Explicit  quadragesimale  quod  dicitur  lima  vitiorum.  Diuino 
huic  operi  Angelus  Britannicus  ciuis  Brixianus  Optimo  fauente 
deo:  eiusque  genetrice  Maria:  finem  optatum  imposuit:  cuius 
fidem  solertiamque  principes  veneti  charipendentes :  ne  quis 
alius  opus  ipsum  infra  sex  annos  imprimat :  aut  impressum  ven- 
dat  in  ditione  sua:  preter  ipsius  angeli  nutum :  Senatuscon- 
sulto  pena  promulgata  cauerunt:  anno  domini  M.cccc- 
lxxxxvii.  die  xviii  Aprilis. 

Here  ends  the  Quadragesimal  which  is  called  the  File  of  Vices. 
To  this  divine  work  by  the  favor  of  God  the  Most  High,  and 
of  his  Mother  Mary,  the  desired  end  has  been  put  by  Angelo 
Britannico,  a  citizen  of  Brescia,  whose  loyalty  and  skill  the  Ve- 
netian princes  held  so  dear  that  by  a  decree  of  the  Senate  and  by 
the  promulgation  of  a  penalty  they  gave  warning  that  no  one 
else  should  print  this  work  within  six  years,  or  sell  it,  if  printed 
elsewhere,  in  their  dominion,  against  the  will  of  the  said  Angelo. 
In  the  year  of  the  Lord  1497,  on  the  eighteenth  day  of  April. 


PUBLISHERS'   COLOPHONS  115 

Martiani  Capellae  Liber  finit:  Impressus  Vicentiae  Anno  Salutis 
M.cccc.xcix.  xvii  Kalendas  Ianuarias  per  Henricum  de  Sancto 
Vrso.  Cum  gratia  et  priuilegio  decern  annorum :  ne  imprimatur 
neque  cum  commentariis :  neque  sine:  &  cetera:  quae  in  ipso 
priuilegio  continentur.    Laus  deo  &  beatae  Virgini. 


Here  ends  the  book  of  Martianus  Capella, printed  at  Vicenza  in 
the  year  of  salvation  1499,  on  December  16th,  by  Henricus  de 
Sancto  Urso.  With  a  grace  and  privilege  for  ten  years,  that  it  be 
not  printed  either  with  commentaries  or  without,  and  the  other 
particulars  which  are  contained  in  the  privilege  itself.  Praise  be 
to  God  and  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

As  publishers  went  on  applying  for  these  privileges,  it  is 
to  be  presumed  that  they  found  them  profitable;  but 
they  were  certainly  sometimes  contravened,  and  the  fines 
do  not  appear  to  have  been  enforced.  Nevertheless  they 
soon  spread  beyond  the  Venetian  dominions.  Thus  in 
1496,  for  instance,  we  find  Scinzenzeler  obtaining  one 
at  Milan,  and  warning  other  booksellers,  with  effusive 
friendliness,  not  to  incur  these  dreadful  penalties  by  ig- 
norant piracy. 

Famosissimi  iureconsulti  Francisci  Curtii  ex  proprio  exemplari 
exceptum  Consiliorum  volumen  primum  per  Iohannem  Vinza- 
lium  Turrianum  summa  cum  diligentia  reuisum,  ac  Ulderici 
Scinzenzeler  artificio  operoso  impressum  Mediolani  M.cccc- 
lxxxxvi  die  xx  Decembris. 

Ne  in  penam  non  paruam  imprudenter  incurras,  O  bibliopola 
au  [i] dissime,  scias  obtentum  esse  ab  Illustrissimo  et  Sapien- 
tissimo  Mediolani  principe  rescriptum  ne  Curtiana  Consilia  ad 
decimum  usque  annum,  aut  imprimi  possint,  aut  alibi  impressa 
importari  venalia  in  eius  districtum  sub  poena  indignationis 
Caesaree  et  eris  in  eo  contenta.  Itaque  ne  ignarus  erres  te  ad- 
monitum  esse  voluit  Iohannes  Vinzalius. 


n6 


AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 


tflc  in  jpcttam  now  partsatii  tmp:tulcnter  iiicurra^  o  bf  bit  opol(«i  audiffi 

jiicrcia0Ob£cnmmcifcab3lluftrilInio^SaptcniiiriiJioia>np:incipc 
rcrcnpmmnccurtwiiacontoaddcainuvriVjaninl^iuiinpitnnpof 
fincautaltbi  tmpKfla  imponari  vcnalia  mdue^iftrictujufub  pena 
indisnatiom$ccfarcc**erte<n  cocontcma^taqsiieigoarus  arcs  tc 
admom'mm  cflc  voluit  3f  oanncs  vin3flttH*,@dlr. 


Franciscus  Curtius.      Consilia.     Milan  :   U.  Scinzenzeler,  1496. 


The  first  volume  of  the  Opinions  of  the  most  famous  jurist 
Franciscus  Curtius,  taken  from  his  own  copy,  revised  with  the 
greatest  diligence  by  Giovanni  Vinzalio  Turriano,  and  by  the 
busy  skill  of  Ulrich  Scinzenzeler  printed  at  Milan  on  December 
20,  1496.  To  save  you  from  rashly  incurring  no  small  pen- 
alty, most  greedy  bookseller,  you  are  to  know  that  a  decree  has 
been  obtained  from  the  most  illustrious  and  most  wise  prince  of 
Milan,  that  until  the  tenth  year  from  now  no  copies  of  the  Opin- 
ions of  Curtius  may  be  printed,  or  if  printed  elsewhere  may  be 
imported  for  sale  into  his  district,  under  the  penalty  of  his  royal 


PUBLISHERS'   COLOPHONS  117 

indignation  and  a  fine,  as  there  expressed.  Therefore,  lest  you 
should  err  in  ignorance,  Giovanni  Vinzalio  wished  you  to  be  in- 
formed. 

Without  attempting  to  follow  the  subject  of  Privileges 
all  over  Europe,  it  may  be  worth  while  to  note  a  few  other 
instances  of  them  in  different  countries.  Thus  they  be- 
gin to  make  their  appearance  in  Verard's  colophons  at 
Paris  in  1 508,  the  earliest  I  can  find  set  forth  in  Mr.  Mac- 
farlane's  Bibliography  being  that  in  the  "  Epistres  Saint 
Pol"  of  17th  January  of  that  year,  called  1507  because 
of  the  Paris  custom  of  reckoning  from  Easter.  This  reads : 

Ce  present  liure  a  este  acheue  dimprimer  par  ledit  Verard  le 
xvii6  iour  de  ianuier  mil  cinq  cens  et  sept.  Et  a  le  roy  nostre 
sire  donne  audit  Verard  lectres  de  priuilege  et  terme  de  trois 
ans  pour  vendre  et  distribuer  ledit  pour  soy  rembourser  des 
fraiz  et  mises  par  luy  faictes.  Et  deffend  le  roy  nostredit  seigneur 
a  tous  inprimeurs  libraires  et  autres  du  royaulme  de  france  de 
non  imprimer  ledit  liure  de  trois  ans  sur  paine  de  confiscation 
desditz  liures. 

This  present  book  has  been  finished  printing  by  the  said  Verard 
the  17th  day  of  January,  1507.  And  the  king  our  master 
has  given  to  the  said  Verard  letters  of  privilege  and  a  term  of 
three  years  to  sell  and  distribute  the  said  book  to  recoup  him- 
self for  the  costs  and  charges  he  has  been  at.  And  the  king 
our  said  lord  forbids  all  printers,  booksellers,  and  others  of  the 
kingdom  of  France  to  print  the  said  book  under  pain  of  the 
confiscation  of  the  copies. 


From  this  date  onwards  an  allusion  to  a  privilege  is  found 
in  most  of  Verard's  books,  but  it  will  be  noted  that  its 
term  is  the  very  moderate  one  of  three  years.  In  Eng- 
land, in  the  earliest  instance  I  have  noted, — Pynson's  edi- 


n8  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

tion  of  the  Oration  of  Richard  Pace  in  151 8, — it  is 
shorter  still.     The  colophon  here  reads: 

Impressa  Londini  anno  verbi  incarnati  M.D.xviii.  idibus  No- 
uembrisperRichardum  Pynson  regiumimpressorem,cum  priui- 
legio  a  rege  indulto,  ne  quis  hanc  orationem  intra  biennium  in 
regno  Angliae  imprimat  aut  alibi  impressam  et  importatam  in 
eodem  regno  Angliae  vendat. 

Printed  at  London  in  the  year  of  the  Incarnate  Word  151 8, 
on  November  13  th,  by  Richard  Pynson,  the  royal  printer, 
with  a  privilege  granted  by  the  king  that  no  one  is  to  print  this 
speech  within  two  years  in  the  kingdom  of  England,  or  to  sell 
it,  if  printed  elsewhere  and  imported,  in  the  same  kingdom  of 
England. 

Herbert  notes  of  this  book,  "this  is  the  first  dated  book, 
wholly  in  the  Roman  or  white  letter,  that  I  have  seen  of 
his  [Pynson's]  printing,  or  indeed  printed  in  England." 
The  foreign  custom  of  privileges  seems  to  have  made  its 
appearance  with  the  foreign  type. 

In  Spain  the  duration  of  the  earliest  privilege  I  have 
found  (in  an  edition  of  the  "Capitulos  de  governadores" 
printed  in  June,  1500,  with  the  types  of  Pegnitzer  and 
Herbst  of  Seville)  is  the  same  as  in  those  granted  to 
Verard  in  France,  and  the  benevolent  Spanish  govern- 
ment accompanies  it  by  a  stipulation  as  to  the  price  to  be 
charged  to  purchasers. 

Por  quanto  maestre  Garcia  de  la  Torre  librero  vezino  de  Toledo 
&  Alonso  Lorenco  librero  vezino  de  Seuilla  se  obligaron  de 
dar  los  dichos  capitulos  a  precio  de  xvi  [sic]  mrs:  manda  su 
alteza  &  los  del  su  muy  alto  consejo  que  ninguno  no  sea  osado 
de  los  empremir  ni  vender  en  todos  sus  reynos  &  senorios 
desde  el  dia  dela  fecha  destos  capitulos  fasta  tres  anos  primeros 
siguientes  sin  licencia  d'los  dichos  maestre  Garcia  de  la  Torre 
&  Alonso  Lorenco  libreros:  so  pena  que  el  que  los  emprimiere 


PUBLISHERS'  COLOPHONS  119 

[o]  vendiere  sin  su  licencia  pague  diez  mill  marauedis  para  la 
camara  de  sus  altezas. 

Forasmuch  as  Master  Garcia  de  la  Torre,  bookseller,  of  Toledo, 
and  Alonso  Lorenzo,  bookseller,  of  Seville,  bind  themselves  to 
offer  the  said  Ordinances  at  the  price  of  sixteen  maravedis,  His 
Highness,  with  those  of  his  illustrious  Council,  commands  that 
no  one  presume  to  print  nor  to  sell  copies  in  all  his  kingdoms 
and  dominions  from  the  day  of  the  ratification  of  the  said  Ordi- 
nances for  the  first  three  years  following,  without  the  license  of 
the  said  Master  Garcia  de  la  Torre  and  Alonso  Lorenco,  book- 
sellers, under  penalty  that  the  unlicensed  printer  or  vendor 
shall  pay  ten  thousand  maravedis  for  the  Chamber  of  their 
Highnesses. 

In  Germany,  on  the  other  hand,  the  longer  period  fa- 
vored in  Italy  seems  to  have  been  adopted.  Here  the 
earliest  privileges  I  have  come  across  are  those  granted 
to  the  Sodalitas  Celtica  of  Nuremberg — i.  e.,  to  Conrad 
Celtesand  his  partners  or  friends — for  printing  books  in 
which  he  was  interested.  In  the  first  of  these  privileges  — 
thatforthe  Comediesof  the  nun  Hroswitha — the  period 
for  which  it  held  good  is  not  specified ; '  but  in  that  granted 
to  Celtes  in  the  following  year  for  his  own"  Quatuor  Li- 
bri  Amorum"it  is  distinctly  stated,"  ut  nullus  haec  in  de- 
cern annis  in  Imperii  urbibus  imprimat";  /.^.,that  under 
the  terms  of  the  privilege  no  one  might  print  the  book  in 
any  town  of  the  Empire  for  ten  years. 

The  instances  of  privileges  here  quoted  may  not  be  the 
very  earliest  in  their  several  countries,  but  they  at  least 

1  Finis  operum  Hrosvithae  clarissi-  Here  end  the  works  of  Hroswitha, 

mae    virginis   et   monialis  Germaniae  the  most  illustrious  virgin  and  nun  of 

gente  Saxonica  ortae.    Impressum  No-  Germany,  sprung  from  the  Saxon  race, 

runbergae  sub  priuilegio  sodali[ta]tis  under  a  privilege  of  Celtesand  his  com- 

Celticae  a  senatu  Rhomani  Imperii  im-  pany,  obtained  from  the  Senate  of  the 

petratae.     AnnoQuingentesimo  primo  Roman  Empire  in  the  year  1501. 
supra  millesimum. 


120  AN    ESSAY   ON   COLOPHONS 

show  how  quickly  the  demand  for  this  form  of  protec- 
tion spread  from  one  country  of  Europe  to  another.  It 
seems  to  me  a  little  remarkable  that  while  publishers 
were  at  the  pains  to  obtain  such  legal  monopolies  (which 
presumably  cost  money),  and  advertised  all  the  other 
attractions  of  their  books  so  freely,  they  should  have  said 
so  little  about  the  illustrations  which  often  form  so  pleas- 
ant a  feature  in  the  editions  of  this  period.  In  the  colo- 
phon, as  on  the  title-page,  of  the  "  Meditationes "  of 
Cardinal  Turrecremata  printed  by  Ulrich  Han  at  Rome 
we  are  informed  where  the  woodcuts  were  copied  from : 

Contemplaciones  deuotissime  per  reuerendissimum  dominum 
dominum  Iohannem  de  Turrecremata  cardinalem  quondam 
Sancti  Sixti  edite,  atque  in  parietibus  circuitus  Marie  Minerue 
nedum  litterarum  caracteribus  verum  eciam  ymaginum  figuris 
ornatissime  descripte  atque  deplete,  feliciter  finiunt  Anno  salu- 
tis  M.cccc.lxxii.  die  uero  uigesima  quarta  mensis  decembris 
sedente  Sixto  quarta  [sic']  pontifice  magno,  etc. 

The  most  devout  contemplations  published  by  the  most  rev- 
erend lord,  Lord  Johannes  de  Turrecremata,  formerly  cardinal  of 
S.  Sixtus,  and  in  the  walls  of  the  cloisters  of  S.  Maria  Minerva 
not  only  in  words  and  letters  but  also  in  pictorial  figures  set 
forth  and  painted,  come  to  a  happy  end,  in  the  year  of  Salva- 
tion 1472,  on  December  24th,  in  the  pontificate  of  Sixtus  IV. 

So  again  the  colophon 1  of  the  Verona  Valturius  notes  not 
only  that  John  of  Verona  was  the  first  printer  in  his  native 
town,  but  also  that  the  book  appeared  with  most  elegant 
types  "  et  figuratis  signis,"  by  which  we  must  understand 
the  pictorial  representations  of  the  numerous  military 
engines  he  describes.    In  some  of  the  French  Horae  the 

1  Iohannes  ex  uerona  oriundus  :  Ni-  librum  elegantissimum  :  litteris  &  figu- 
colai  cyrugie  medici  Alius  :  Artis  im-  ratis  signis  sua  in  patria  primus  impres- 
pressorie  magister  :  hunc  de  re  militari      sit.      An.  M.cccc.lxxii. 


PUBLISHERS'   COLOPHONS  121 

illustrations  are  just  alluded  to  in  the  titles  or  colophons, 
and  in  Meidenbach's  "Ortus  Sanitatis"  there  is  a  fairly 
long  reference,  in  the  Address  to  the  Reader,  to  the  "  effi- 
gies et  figuras"  with  which  the  book  is  so  successfully 
adorned.  But  the  only  colophon  which  really  does  jus- 
tice to  the  illustrations  of  a  fifteenth-century  book  is  that 
to  Hartmann  Schedel's  "  Liber  Chronicarum,"or  "Nu- 
remberg Chronicle." 

[A]  Dest  nunc  studiose  lectorfinislibriCronicarumperviam  epi- 
thomatis  et  breuiarii  compilati,  opus  quidem  preclarum  et  a  doc- 
tissimo  quoque  comparandum.  Continet  enim  gesta  quecunque 
digniora  sunt  notatu  ab  initio  mundi  ad  hanc  usque  temporis 
nostri  calamitatem.  Castigatumque  a  uiris  doctissimis  ut  magis 
elaboratum  in  lucem  prodiret.  Ad  intuitum  autem  et  preces 
prouidorum  ciuium  Sebaldi  Schreyer  et  Sebastiani  Kamermaister 
hunc  librum  dominus  Anthonius  Koberger  Nuremberge  im- 
pressit.  Adhibitis  tamen  uiris  mathematicis  pingendique  arte 
peritissimis,  Michaele  Wolgemut  et  Wilhelmo  Pleydenwurff, 
quorum  solerti  acuratissimaque  animaduersione  turn  ciuitatum 
turn  illustrium  uirorum  figure  inserte  sunt.  Consummatum  au- 
tem duodecima  mensis  Iulii.    Anno  salutis  nostre  1493. 

You  have  here,  studious  reader,  the  end  of  the  book  of  Chron- 
icles, compiled  by  way  of  an  epitome  and  abridgment,  a  notable 
work  indeed,  and  one  to  be  bought  by  every  learned  man.  For 
it  records  all  the  matters  specially  worthy  of  note  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world  to  these  last  distressful  times  of  our  own. 
And  it  has  been  corrected  by  very  learned  men,  that  it  may  make 
a  more  finished  appearance.  Now  at  the  respect  and  prayers  of 
those  prudent  citizens,  Sebald  Schreyer  and  Sebastian  Kamer- 
maister, this  book  has  been  printed  by  Master  Anton  Koberger 
at  Nuremberg,  with  the  assistance,  nevertheless,  of  mathemati- 
cal men,  well  skilled  in  the  art  of  painting,  Michael  Wolgemut 
and  Wilhelm  Pleydenwurff,  by  whose  skilful  and  most  accurate 
annotation  the  pictures  both  of  cities  and  of  illustrious  men  have 


122  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

been  inserted.  It  has  been  brought  to  an  end  on  July  12th.  In 
the  year  of  our  salvation  1493. 

Out  of  all  the  hundreds  of  fifteenth-century  books  with 
interesting  pictures,  this  is  the  only  one  I  can  call  to 
mind  which  gives  explicit  information  as  to  its  illustra- 
tions. Perhaps  the  publishers  thought  that  the  woodcuts 
were  themselves  more  conspicuous  in  the  books  than  the 
colophons.  But  it  is  certainly  strange  that  when  authors, 
editors,  press-correctors,  printers,  patrons,  and  booksellers 
all  get  their  due,  the  illustrators,  save  in  this  one  instance, 
should  have  been  kept  in  anonymous  obscurity. 


VI 


COLOPHONS   OF    AUTHORS   AND   EDITORS 


OOKSELLERS  are  a  much  more 
learned  body  than  they  used  to  be, 
but  few  readers  of  second-hand 
catalogues  can  have  failed  to  meet 
with  ascriptions  of  dates  for  the 
printing  of  books  long  anterior  to 
the  invention  of  the  art,  on  the 
ground  of  colophons  which  they 
know  at  once  to  have  been  written  by  the  authors.  Where 
only  a  few  years  separate  the  dates  of  composition  and 
publication  the  mistake  is  easily  made  and  not  always 
easily  detected.  The  retention  of  the  author's  original 
colophon  is,  however,  common  enough  for  cataloguers 
to  be  prepared  for  it;  and  there  are  plenty  of  cases  in 
which  a  book  possesses  two  quite  distinct  colophons,  the 
first  by  the  author,  the  second  by  the  printer  or  publisher. 
Thus,  to  take  a  simple  example  from  a  famous  book,  we 

123 


i24  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

find  at  the  end  of  the  text  of  the  "  Hypnerotomachia  " 
the  author's  colophon: 

Taruisii  cum  decorissimis  Poliae  amore  lorulis  distineretur  mi- 
sellus  Poliphilus.     M.cccc.lxvii.  Kalendis  Maii. 

At  Treviso,  while  the  wretched  Polifilo  was  confined  by  love 
of  Polia  with  glittering  nets.     May  i,  1467. 

That  of  the  printer  is  thirty-two  years  later : 

Venetiis  mense  Decembri  M  I  D  in  aedibus  Aldi  Manutii, 
accuratissime. 

At  Venice,  in  the  month  of  December,  1499,  in  the  house  of 
Aldo  Manuzio,  with  very  great  accuracy. 

A  more  interesting  instance  of  a  double  colophon  occurs 
in  an  equally  famous  book,  the  "Morte  d' Arthur  "  of  Sir 
Thomas  Malory.    In  this  Malory  writes : 

Here  is  the  end  of  the  booke  of  Kyng  Arthur  and  of  his  noble 
Knyghtes  of  the  Round  Table,  that  when  they  were  hole  to- 
gyders  there  was  euer  an  C  and  xl,  and  here  is  the  ende  of 
the  deth  of  Arthur.  I  praye  you  all  Ientyl  men  and  Ientyl 
wymmen  that  redeth  this  book  of  Arthur  and  his  knyghtes 
from  the  begynnyng  to  the  endyng,  praye  for  me  whyle  I  am 
on  lyue  that  God  sende  me  good  delyuerance,  and  whan  I  am 
deed  I  praye  you  all  praye  for  my  soule.  For  this  book  was 
ended  the  ix  yere  of  the  reygne  of  Kyng  Edward  the  fourth,  by 
Syr  Thomas  Maleore  Knyght.  As  Ihesu  helpe  hym  for  hys 
grete  myght,as  he  is  the  seruaunt  of  Ihesu  bothe  day  and  nyght. 

This  colophon  was  written  between  Malory's  outlawry 
in  1468  and  his  death  on  March  14,  1471,  and  its  re- 
quest for  the  reader's  prayers  for  his  "  delyuerance"  and 


COLOPHONS   OF   AUTHORS  125 

for  the  repose  of  his  soul  after  death  is  made  all  the  more 
pathetic  when  we  remember  the  author's  declaration 
that  by  sickness  "al  welthe  is  birafte"  from  a  prisoner 
(Book  ix,  ch.  37).  Caxton's  preface  as  editor,  printer, 
and  publisher,  on  the  other  hand,  is  purely  businesslike, 
and  gives  us  no  more  information  about  the  author. 

C,Thus  endyth  thys  noble  and  joyous  book  entytled  Le  Morte 
D'Arthur.  Notwythstondyng  it  treateth  of  the  byrth,  lyf  and 
actes  of  the  sayd  Kyng  Arthur,  of  his  noble  knyghtes  of  the 
Rounde  Table,  theyr  meruayllous  enquestes  and  aduentures, 
thacheuyng  of  the  Sangreal,  &  in  thende  the  dolorous  deth 
&  departyng  out  of  thys  world  of  them  al.  Whiche  book  was 
reduced  into  englysshe  by  Syr  Thomas  Malory  Knyght  as 
afore  is  sayd,  and  by  me  deuyded  in  to  xxi  bookes,  chapytred 
and  enprynted,  and  fynysshed  in  thabbey  westmestre  the  last 
day  of  Iuyl  the  yere  of  our  Lord  Mcccclxxxv. 
CCaxton  me  fieri  fecit. 

Despite  outlawry,  sickness,  and  probably  imprisonment, 
Malory  finished  his  book.  In  the  troublous  days  of  the 
fifteenth  century  war  and  disease  must  often  have  proved 
sad  interruptions  to  authors,  and  in  his  "  Repetitio  dever- 
borum  significatione  "  (Hain  1 1679)  Georgius  Natta  is 
evidently  as  proud  of  having  triumphed  over  these  hin- 
drances as  of  his  official  position.    Thus  he  writes : 

Reliquum  est  Deo  summo  gratias  agere  quo  auctor  huic  operi, 
iam  bis  armis  et  pestilentia  Pisis  intermisso,  Georgius  Natta, 
iuris  utriusque  doctor,  ciuis  Astensis  ac  illustrissimi  et  excel- 
lentissimi  Marchionis  Montisferrati  consiliarius,  multis  additis 
et  priori  ordine  in  aliquibus  mutato,  extremam  manum  imposuit 
anno  dominice  natiuitatis  Millesimo.cccc.lxxxii,  quo  tempore 
pro  memorabili  Guilielmo  Montisferrati  Marchione  ac  ducali 
capitaneo  generali  Mediolani  oratorem  agebat  apud  illustris- 
simum   Io.   Galeam    Mariam    Sfortiam    uicecomitem    Ducem 


126  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

sextum,  Ludouico  patruo  mira  integritate  gubernante,  quippe 
qui  Mediolanensium  res  iam  tunc  adeo  gnauiter  ampliabat  et 
oranti  Italie  pacem  adeo  largiter  elargiebatur  ut  nee  superior 
etas  optabiliorem  habuerit  nee  nostra  uiderit  prestantiorem. 
Profecto  mira  res  quod  diuinus  ille  preses  Marti  pariter  et  Mi- 
nerue  satisfaceret. 

Impressum  Papie  per  Christoforum  de  Canibus  Anno  a  na- 
tiuitate  domini.      M.cccc.lxxxxii.  die  xv  septembris. 

ik&c\iqmm  eftoeofummogratias  Agere  quo  an> 
ctoi  buicoperi  iam  bfearmio  c  peftilentia  pifis  inter 
miflb  45eo2gi9  natta  iurisurriufqsoocto:  ciuis  after! 
ee  iUuftriflimi  i  tpodkmXtbvA  flfcarcbionis  montif' 
fcrati  pftliarius  multis  additis  e  pitcm  ojdine  in  aliq; 
bus  murato  crtrema  manu  tmpofutt  anno  fcriirc  nati' 
uitatis.fl(billcl!mo.ccccl>:]a:ij.qHO  tempoie  $  memo' 
rabili  j^Kilidmo  montifferati  flfcarcbione  ac  Mica 
licapitaeo  generali  mil  C2aio:c  agebat  apnd  Jfiluflrif 
(imu  3fo.ga!cas  maria  (ftmiam  uicecomitc  (gmcc  ferv 
mm  Judouico  patruo  mira  inregritatc  gubernante 
quippe  qui  medtolanenfiumreo  tarn  tune  adeo  gna> 
utter  ampliabat  *  o^nti  italie  pace  adr o  largiter  elar 
giebatur  ut  nee  fugio:  etas  optabilioiej  babuerit  nee 
no flra  uiderit  pftaun'oie.  #fecto  mira  reocp  oiufaue 
ille  pfeo  marti  pariter  z  mincrue  fatiffecerer. 

|/^mpidrumT{b3nMf£8  CbaUofopteci 
nibus  2Jnno  a  natiuitate  oomini.  £Bbcccctawtj.  We 
jcv.fcptembits-. 

Georgius  Natta.     Repetitiones.     Pavia :  C.  de  Canibus,  1492. 

It  remains  to  give  thanks  to  the  Most  High  God,  by  whose 
grace  the  author,  Georgius  Natta,  doctor  of  both  laws,  a  citizen 
of  Asti  and  councillor  of  the  most  illustrious  and  most  excellent 
Marquis  of  Monferrat,to  this  work,  which  had  been  twice  inter- 
rupted by  war  and  plague  at  Pisa,  with  many  additions  and  some 
changes  in  the  former  arrangement,  put  the  finishing  touch  in 
the  year  of  the  Lord's  nativity  1482,  at  which  time,  on  behalf 


COLOPHONS    OF   AUTHORS  127 

of  the  memorable  Guglielmo,  Marquis  of  Monferrat,  and  ducal 
captain-general,  he  was  acting  as  ambassador  at  Milan,  at  the 
court  of  the  most  illustrious  Viscount  Giovanni  Galea  Maria 
Sforza,  sixth  duke,  whose  uncle  Lodovico  was  governing  with 
wondrous  uprightness,  inasmuch  as  he  was  already  so  skilfully 
enlarging  the  fortunes  of  the  Milanese,  and  so  liberally  impart- 
ing peace  to  Italy  which  craved  it,  that  neither  did  any  earlier 
age  present  a  more  enviable  person  nor  did  our  own  behold  one 
of  greater  excellence.  Wonderful  indeed  was  it  that  that  heroic 
ruler  gave  their  due  alike  to  Mars  and  to  Minerva. 

Printed  at  Pavia  by  Cristoforo  degli  Cani  in  the  year  from 
the  Lord's  nativity  1492,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  September. 

Less  contented  with  his  lot,  Henricus  Bruno,  in  his  lec- 
tures "Super  Institutionibus" published  at  Louvain,  after 
writing  the  formal  colophon  takes  up  his  pen  anew  to 
give  eloquent  expression  to  the  woes  of  the  professional 
man  who  devotes  his  leisure  not  to  rest  but  to  literature. 


Ad  laudem  et  honorem  summi  ac  omnipotentis  deique  marie 
matris  sue  intacte  Explicit  Henricus  de  piro  super  Institutioni- 
bus Per  Egidium  van  der  Heerstraten  in  alma  Louaniensi 
uniuersitate  Impressus  duodecima  die  Nouembris.  Nouissime 
domini  et  fratres  dilectissimi  reminiscite  queso  ac  tacite  in 
animis  vestris  cogitate  quantis  laboribus  quantisque  capitis 
vexationibus  Ego  Henricus  Brunonis  alias  de  Piro  de  Colonia 
inter  legum  dectores  [sic]  minimus  hoc  opusculum  ex  scriptis 
aliorum  pro  vestris  beniuolenciis  atque  augmentatione  huius 
nouelli  studii  Louaniensis  expleuerim  Qui  singulis  diebus  post 
lectionem  fFtorum  mihi  a  publico  deputatam  in  continenti  hoc 
opus  quasi  intollerabili  onere  assumpsi.  Quare  fratres  human- 
issimi  si  quicquid  erroris  vel  dignum  correctionis  inueneritis 
oro,  rogo  atque  obtestor  vestros  immortales  animos  vt  illud 
benigne  non  mordaciter,  caritatis  zelo  non  liuoris  aculeo,  corri- 
gendum ac  emendandum  curetis.  Ad  laudem  summi  dei  qui 
viuit  et  regnat  in  secula  benedictus.     Amen. 


128  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

fpflotufiimf  wmfm  z  franco  orttctiltfmf 
remimfocfqucroactadteinanimfavcllrio 
cogitate  quanrio  laboribuo  quatifc^capi/ 
no  pe;:ariom'b9  %obenricuo  bninonf* 
aliao  a  pt  ro  a  colonia  inter  lcgu3  cectozco 
tnimmuo  hoc  opufculu  ej:  fcripcio  alicmi; 
pzo  Prilrio  fceniuolencfioatqjaugmcHta  / 
none  biiiuo  nouelli  ftudii  louanien  ej:ple/ 
uerim  &uifinguliooiebti8poft(ectfone3 
ffromm  mibi  a  publico  oeputaram  in  con 
tCncnti  bocopuo  quafi  in  tollerabili  onere 
afllimpft  ^uarefatrobumamfimrifi 
quiquid  ertoa'o  peloigmim  cotrettfomo 
uiuetten^o26*rogo*atcpobte(lo!  peftroo 
irtimoztalcoanimooptillud  bemgnenon 
mo*oaciter  caritatio  ^clo-non  liuotf  o  acu  / 
teo«coaigendum  acemenDanoumairerio 
aolauocmfummtoci  quiriufrtregnat 
ktifeaitabeneDictus*  2ltnm 

Henricus  Bruno.      Super  Institutionibus.      Louvain:  Aeg. 
van  der  Heerstraten  [1488?]. 

To  the  praise  and  honor  of  the  Most  High  and  Almighty  God 
and  of  Mary  his  Virgin  Mother  there  comes  to  an  end  Henricus 
de  Piro  on  the  Institutions,  printed  by  Egidius  van  der  Heer- 
straten in  the  bounteous  University  of  Louvain,  on  the  twelfth 
day  of  November.  Lastly,  masters  and  most  beloved  brothers, 
remember,  I  pray  you,  and  silently  in  your  minds  consider  with 
how  great  toils  and  how  great  harassments  of  the  head  I,  Henri- 
cus, the  son  of  Bruno,  otherwise  Henricus  de  Piro  of  Cologne, 
the  least  among  the  doctors  and  readers  of  the  law,  have  com- 
pleted this  little  work  out  of  the  writings  of  other  men  for  your 
profiting  and  for  the  advancement  of  this  new  university  of 
Louvain.  Now  I,  day  by  day,  after  lecturing  on  the  Pandects 
according  to  the  terms  of  my  public  appointment,  forthwith 
took  up  this  work,  though  intolerably  burdensome.  Wherefore, 
my  most  courteous  brethren,  if  you  find  any  trace  of  error  or 


COLOPHONS    OF   AUTHORS  129 

anything  worthy  of  correction,  I  request,  pray,  and  entreat  you, 
by  your  immortal  souls,  that  you  see  to  its  correction  and 
amendment  in  a  kindly  rather  than  a  biting  spirit,  with  the 
zeal  of  love  rather  than  the  spur  of  envy.  To  the  praise  of  the 
Most  High  God,  who  lives  and  reigns,  blessed  to  all  ages. 
Amen. 

Even  as  late  as  1 580  an  author,  a  musician  this  time,  used 
the  colophon  to  pour  out  the  griefs  of  which  nowadays 
we  disburden  ourselves  in  prefaces.  It  is  thus  that,  in  his 
"  Cantiones  seu  Harmoniae  sacrae  quas  vulgoMoteta  vo- 
cant,"  Johann  von  Cleve  took  advantage  of  the  tradition 
of  the  colophon  to  bespeak  the  sympathy  of  students  and 
amateurs  of  music  for  his  troubles  in  bringing  out  his 
book  : 

Sub  calce  operis,  Musicae  studiosos  &  amatores  admonere, 
operae  pretium  visum  est  hoc  Motetorum  opus,  primo  Philippo 
Vlhardo,  ciui  et  Typographo  Augustano,  ad  imprimendum  esse 
delegatum,  qui  ob  aduersam  corporis  valetudinem  (vt  fieri  solet) 
aequo  morosior,  saepe  nostram  intentionem  non  est  assecutus, 
meque  opus  ipsum,  praetermissis  quibusdam  mutetis  (quae 
tamen  breui,  vita  comite  &  Deo  fauente,  in  lucem  prodibunt) 
abbreuiare  coegit,  praesertim  cum  idem  Typographus,  opere 
nondum  finito,  diem  suum  clauserit  extremum  :  ac  deinceps 
idem  opus  Andreae  Reinheckel,  ad  finem  deducendum,  sit  com- 
missum.  Quare  si  quid,  quod  curiosum  turbare  posset  occur- 
rerit,  Musici  (oro)  animam  ferunt  aequiore.  Valete.  Anno 
Domini  M.D.lxxx.  Mense  Ianuario. 

As  I  come  to  the  end  of  my  task  it  seems  worth  while  to  in- 
form students  and  amateurs  of  music  that  this  collection  of  Mo- 
tets was  in  the  first  place  entrusted  to  Philip  Ulhard,  citizen 
and  printer  of  Augsburg,  to  be  printed,  and  that  he  (as  often 
happens),  being  made  unreasonably  capricious  by  bodily  ill- 
health,  often  did  not  carry  out  our  intention,  and  compelled  me, 
by  leaving  out  some  motets  (which,  however,  if  life  bears  me 


130  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

company  and  God  helps,  will  shortly  be  published),  to  abridge 
the  work,  and  more  especially  as  the  same  printer,  when  the 
work  was  not  yet  finished,  came  to  an  end  of  his  days,  and 
thereupon  the  said  work  was  entrusted  to  Andreas  Reinheckel 
to  be  completed,  if  anything,  therefore,  is  found  which  might 
disturb  a  connoisseur,  I  pray  musicians  to  bear  it  with  equa- 
nimity. Farewell.  In  the  year  of  the  Lord  1 580,  in  the  month 
of  January. 

An  earlier  author,  Bonetus  de  Latis,  when  he  came  to 
the  end  of  his"  Annulus  astronomicus  siue  de  utilitate  as- 
trologiae"  (Rome,  Andreas  Freitag,c.  1496;  Hain9926), 
dedicated  to  the  Pope,  had  no  complaints  to  make  of  his 
printer  or  of  working  after  office  hours,  but  used  the  col- 
ophon to  ask  for  lenient  criticism  of  any  flaws  in  his 
Jewish  Latin. 

Hec  sunt,  Beatissime  Pater,  Anuli  astronomici  puncta  pere- 
gregia  una  mecum  ad  S.  tue  pedes  humillime  oblata  que  posi- 
tis  superciliis  hilari  uultu,  ut  spes  fovet,  recipias.  Nee  mirum 
si  grammatice  methas  qui  hebreus  sum  latinitatis  expers  non- 
nunquam  excesserim.  Nolens  utile  per  inutile  viciari  malui 
S.  T.  rosulas  uili  quam  urticas  loliumue  in  preciosa  offerre 
sportula:  ut  que  ad  S.T.  totiusque  reipublice  commodum  omni- 
umque  rerum  Opificis  laudem  utilia  comperta  sunt  ob  connex- 
iones  verborum  enormes  non  obmitterentur,  summa  verum 
auctoritate  tua  interposita  a  cunctis  patule  agnoscerentur. 

Parce  precor  rudibus  que  sunt  errata  latine: 
Lex  hebraea  mihi  est:  lingua  latina  minus. 

These  notable  points  of  the  Astronomical  Ring  are  most 
humbly  offered,  most  blessed  Father,  together  with  myself,  at 
the  feet  of  your  Holiness.  May  you  lay  aside  all  disdain  and 
receive  them,  as  hope  encourages,  with  a  joyful  countenance. 
Nor  is  it  any  wonder  if  a  Hebrew  such  as  I  am,  with  no  schol- 
arship in  Latin,  should  sometimes  have  overstepped  the  bounds 
of  grammar.     In  my  unwillingness  that  the  useful  should  be 


COLOPHONS   OF   AUTHORS  131 

made  of  no  effect  by  the  useless,  I  preferred  to  offer  to  your 
Holiness  rosebuds  in  a  cheap  basket  rather  than  nettles  or 
tares  in  a  precious  one,  so  that  such  useful  discoveries  as  have 
been  made  for  the  advantage  of  your  Holiness  and  of  the 
whole  state,  and  to  the  praise  of  the  Artificer  of  all  things, 
should  not  be  passed  over  on  account  of  unusual  collocations 
of  words,  but  by  the  interposition  of  your  authority  should  be 
plainly  recognized  by  all. 

Be  lenient,  you  who  find  some  Latin  flaw: 
Not  Latin  I  profess,  but  Hebrew  law. 

Jacobus  Bergomensis,  when  he  finishes  his  "  Supplemen- 
tum  Chronicarum,"  can  boast  proudly  of  promises  per- 
formed, and  gives  not  only  the  dates  of  its  completion 
and  printing,  but  his  own  age. 

Hie  igitur  terminum  ponam  Supplementi  historiarum:  quam 
[sic]  me  promisi  cum  omni  veritate  traditurum.  Nisus  autem 
sum  sine  errore  successiones  regum  principum  et  actus  eorum : 
ac  virorum  in  disciplinis  excellentium  et  origines  religionum: 
sicut  ex  libris  hystoricorum  descriptio  continet.  Hoc  enim  in 
exordio  huius  operis  me  facere  compromisi.  Perfectum  autem 
per  me  opus  fuit  anno  salutis  nostre  1483.  30  Kalendas  Iulii 
in  ciuitate  Bergomi:  mihi  vero  a  natiuitate  quadragesimo  nono. 
Impressum  autem  hoc  opus  in  inclita  Venetiarum  ciuitate  :  per 
Bernardinum  de  Benaliis  bergomensem  eodem  anno,  die  230 
Augusti. 

Here,  then,  I  will  make  an  end  of  the  Supplement  of  Histo- 
ries, which  I  promised  that  I  would  relate  with  all  truth.  Now 
I  have  tried  to  set  down  without  mistake  the  successions  of 
kings  and  princes,  and  the  activities  of  them  and  of  the  men 
who  excelled  in  studies,  and  the  origins  of  religions  as  they  are 
embraced  in  the  description  taken  from  the  books  of  the  his- 
torians. For  in  the  introduction  of  this  work  I  pledged  my- 
self to  do  this.     The  work  has  been  finished  by  me  in  the  year 


132  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

of  our  salvation  1483,  on  June  29th,  in  the  city  of  Bergamo, 
and  as  regards  myself  in  the  forty-ninth  year  from  my  birth. 
Now  this  book  was  printed  in  the  renowned  city  of  Venice  by 
Bernardino  dei  Benali  of  Bergamo  on  August  23d  of  the  same 
year. 

When  the  "  Supplementum  Chronicarum "  was  re- 
printed in  1485—86,  Bergomensis  duly  altered  his  state- 
ment as  to  his  age  to  fifty-one  and  fifty-two.  In  the 
1490  edition  the  author's  colophon  still  reads: 

Perfectum  autem  est  et  denuo  castigatum  atque  auctum  per 
me  opus  fuit  Idibus  Octobris:  anno  a  Natali  Christiano 
M.cccc.lxxxvi,  in  ciuitate  nostra  Bergomi:  mihi  vero  a  natiui- 
tate  quinquagesimo  secundo. 

That  of  the  printer,  on  the  other  hand,  is  duly  brought  up 
to  date: 

Impressum  autem  Venetiis  per  Bernardum  Rizum  de  Nouaria 
anno  a  Natiuitate  domini  M.cccc.lxxxx.  die  decimo  quinto 
Madii,  regnante  inclito  duce  Augustino  Barbadico. 

It  is  thus  evident  that  with  this  and  later  editions  Bergo- 
mensis, though  he  lived  to  be  eighty-six,  did  not  concern 
himself. 

An  author's  colophon  must  often  have  been  omitted  by 
the  scribe  or  printer  who  was  copying  his  book  precisely 
because  a  double  colophon  seemed  confusing,  and  the 
scribe  or  printer  wished  to  have  his  own  say.  Nicolaus 
de  Auximo  in  his  Supplement  to  the  Summa  of  Pisanella 
ingeniously  forestalled  any  such  tampering  by  linking 
his  remarks  to  his  exposition  of  the  word"Zelus,"  thelast 
which  he  had  to  explain.  After  quoting  from  the  Psalms 
the  text  "Zelus  domus  tue  comedit  me,"  "The  zeal  of 
thy  house  has  eaten  me  up,"  he  proceeds: 


COLOPHONS    OF   AUTHORS  133 

et  hie  zelus  me  fratrem  Nicolaum  de  Ausmo,  ordinis  minorum 
indignum  pro  aliquali  simpliciorum  subsidio  ad  huius  supple- 
ment! compilationem  quod  struente  domino  nostro  Iesu  Cristo, 
excepta  tabula  capitulorum  et  abbreuiaturarum  et  rubricarum 
expletum  est  apud  nostrum  locum  prope  Mediolanum  sancte 
Marie  de  Angelis  nuncupatum,  et  uulgariter  Sancti  Angeli, 
M.cccc.xliiii,  nouembris  xxviii,  die  Sabbati  ante  aduentum,  hora 
quasi  sexta.  Et  omnia  quae  in  eo  ac  ceteris  opusculis  per  me 
compilatis  compilandisue  incaute  seu  minus  perite  posita  conti- 
nentur  peritiorum  et  praesertim  sacrosancte  ecclesie  submitto 
correctioni,  et  cetera. 

And  this  zeal  hath  urged  me,  Nicholas  of  Osimo,  an  unworthy 
brother  of  the  order  of  Friars  Minor,  to  the  compilation,  for 
some  aid  of  more  simple  men,  of  this  Supplement,  which  by  the 
power  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  save  for  the  table  of  chapters 
and  abbreviations  and  rubrics,  has  been  completed  at  our  abode 
near  Milan,  called  Saint  Mary  of  the  Angels,  and  vulgarly  Sant 
Angelo,  in  1444,  on  November  28,  the  Saturday  before  Advent, 
at  about  the  sixth  hour.  And  both  in  it  and  in  the  other  works 
which  either  have  been  or  are  to  be  compiled  by  me,  all  things 
which  are  found  stated  incautiously  or  unskilfully  I  submit  to 
the  correction  of  the  better  skilled  and  especially  of  the  Holy 
Church,  etc. 

The  submission  of  a  book,  more  particularly  a  theologi- 
cal one,  to  the  correction  of  the  learned  and  the  church 
was  of  course  "common  form"  while  the  Roman  do- 
minion was  undisputed,  and  many  colophons  containing 
such  phrases  could  be  collected.  We  must  pass  on  now, 
however,  from  authors  to  editors,  taking  William  Cax- 
ton,  by  the  way,  as  an  editor  and  translator  who  put  so 
much  of  himself  into  his  work  that  he  deserves  honorary 
rank  among  authors.  That  he  was  his  own  printer  and 
publisher  as  well  has  certainly  rather  hindered  the  appre- 
ciation of  his  literary  merits,  but  gives  to  his  colophons, 


i34  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

prologues,  and  epilogues  a  special  flavor  of  their  own. 
As  to  which  of  these  opportunities  of  talking  to  his 
readers  he  should  use,  Caxton  seems  to  have  cared  little; 
but  even  if  we  confine  ourselves  fairly  strictly  to  colo- 
phons properly  so  called,  there  is  no  difficulty  in  finding 
interesting  examples,  as,  for  instance,  this  from  his 
"  Godefroy  of  Boloyne" : 

Thus  endeth  this  book  Intitled  the  laste  siege  and  conqueste  of 
Iherusalem  with  many  other  historyes  therin  comprysed,  Fyrst 
of  Eracles  and  of  the  meseases  of  the  cristen  men  in  the  holy 
lande,  And  of  their  releef  &  conquest  of  Iherusalem,  and  how 
Godeffroy  of  Boloyne  was  fyrst  kyng  of  the  latyns  in  that 
royamme,  &  of  his  deth,  translated  &  reduced  out  of  frensshe 
in  to  Englysshe  by  me  symple  persone  Wylliam  Caxton  to 
thende  that  euery  cristen  man  may  be  the  better  encoraged  ten- 
terprise  warre  for  the  defense  of  Christendom,  and  to  recouer 
the  sayd  Cyte  of  Iherusalem  in  whiche  oure  blessyd  sauyour 
Ihesu  Criste  suffred  deth  for  al  mankynde,  and  roose  fro  deth 
to  lyf,  And  fro  the  same  holy  londe  ascended  in  to  heuen.  And 
also  that  Cristen  peple  one  vnyed  in  a  veray  peas  myght  em- 
pryse  to  goo  theder  in  pylgremage  with  strong  honde  for  to 
expelle  the  sarasyns  and  turkes  out  of  the  same,  that  our  lord 
myght  be  ther  seruyd  &  worshipped  of  his  chosen  cristen  peple 
in  that  holy  &  blessed  londe  in  which  he  was  Incarnate  and 
blissyd  it  with  the  presence  of  his  blessyd  body  whyles  he  was 
here  in  erthe  emonge  vs,  by  whiche  conquest  we  myght  deserue 
after  this  present  short  and  transitorye  lyf  the  celestial  lyf  to 
dwelle  in  heuen  eternally  in  ioye  without  ende  Amen.  Which 
book  I  presente  vnto  the  mooste  Cristen  kynge,  kynge  Edward 
the  fourth,  humbly  besechyng  his  hyenes  to  take  no  displesyr 
at  me  so  presumyng.  Whiche  book  I  began  in  Marche  the 
xii  daye  and  fynysshyd  the  vii  day  of  Juyn,  the  yere  of  our  lord 
M.cccc.lxxxi,  &  the  xxi  yere  of  the  regne  of  our  sayd  souerayn 
lord  kyng  Edward  the  fourth,  &  in  this  maner  sette  in  forme 
and  enprynted  the  xx  day  of  nouembre  the  yere  a  forsayd  in 
thabbay  of  Westmester,  by  the  said  Wylliam  Caxton. 


COLOPHONS   OF   AUTHORS  135 

Here,  it  will  have  been  noticed,  Caxton  runs  epilogue, 
colophon,  and  dedication  all  into  one  after  his  own  happy 
and  unpretentious  fashion.  Our  next  example  is  from  a 
book  which  had  indeed  a  royal  patron  in  France,  but  in 
England  was  brought  out  at  the  request  of  an  unnamed 
London  merchant, though  its  name, "The  Royal  Book," 
has  probably  had  something  to  do  with  its  high  pecuniary 
value  among  Caxton's  productions.  This  colophon  runs : 

This  book  was  compyled  and  made  atte  requeste  of  Kyng 
Phelyp  of  Fraunce,  in  the  yere  of  thyncarnacyon  of  our  lord 
M.cc.lxxix,  and  translated  or  reduced  out  of  frensshe  in  to 
englysshe  by  me  Wyllyam  Caxton,  atte  requeste  of  a  worshipful 
marchaunt  and  mercer  of  London,  whyche  instauntly  requyred 
me  to  reduce  it  for  the  wele  of  alle  them  that  shal  rede  or  here 
it,  as  for  a  specyal  book  to  knowe  al  vyces  and  braunches  of 
them,  and  also  al  vertues  by  whiche  wel  vnderstonden  and  seen 
may  dyrecte  a  persone  to  euerlastyng  blysse,  whyche  book  is 
callyd  in  frensshe  le  liure  Royal,  that  is  to  say  the  ryal  book, 
or  a  book  for  a  kyng.  For  the  holy  scrypture  calleth  euery 
man  a  kyng  whiche  wysely  and  parfy tly  can  gouerne  and  dyrecte 
hymselfe  after  vertu,  and  this  book  sheweth  and  enseygneth  it 
so  subtylly,  so  shortly,  so  perceuyngly  and  so  parfyghtly  that 
for  the  short  comprehencion  of  the  noble  clergye  and  of  the 
right  grete  substaunce  which  is  comprysed  therin  It  may  and 
ought  to  be  called  wel  by  ryghte  and  quycke  reason  aboue  al 
other  bookes  in  frensshe  or  in  englysshe,  the  book  ryal  or  the 
book  for  a  kyng,  and  also  bycause  that  it  was  made  and  ordeyned 
atte  request  of  that  ryght  noble  kyng  Phelyp  le  bele  kynge  of 
Fraunce  ought  it  to  be  called  Ryall,  as  tofore  is  sayd,  whiche 
translacyon  or  reducyng  oute  of  frensshe  in  to  englysshe  was 
achyeued,  fynysshed  and  accomplysshed  the  xiii  day  of  Sep- 
tembre  in  the  yere  of  thyncarnacyon  of  our  lord  M.cccc.lxxxiiii 
And  in  the  second  yere  of  theRegne  of  KyngRychard  the  thyrd. 

Our  third  Caxton  colophon  belongs  to 'another  book 
which  had  no  royal  or  princely  patron,  only   Master 


136  AN    ESSAY    ON   COLOPHONS 

William  Daubeney,  keeper  of  the  jewels.  There  are 
certainly,  however,  no  lack  of  kings  in  the  colophon  to 
"  Charles  the  Great" ;  for  Caxton,  who  had  good  reason 
to  be  attached  to  the  House  of  York,  alludes  very  cere- 
moniously to  "his  late  master  Edward  IV,"  while  chro- 
nology compels  him  to  name  also  both  Richard  III  and 
Henry  VII,  though  in  neither  case  does  he  bestow  any 
complimentary  epithets. 

And  by  cause  I  Wylliam  Caxton  was  desyred  &  requyred  by  a 
good  and  synguler  frende  of  myn,  Maister  Wylliam  Daubeney, 
one  of  the  tresorers  of  the  Iewellys  of  the  noble  &  moost 
crysten  kyng  our  naturel  and  souerayn  lord  late  of  noble  mem- 
orye  kyng  Edward  the  fourth,  on  whos  soule  Ihesu  haue  mercy, 
to  reduce  al  these  sayd  hystoryes  in  to  our  englysshe  tongue, 
I  haue  put  me  in  deuoyr  to  translate  thys  sayd  book  as  ye  here 
tofore  may  se,  al  a  long  and  playn,  prayeng  alle  them  that  shall 
rede  see  or  here  it  to  pardon  me  of  thys  symple  &  rude  trans- 
lacyon  and  reducyng,  bysechyng  theym  that  shal  fynde  faute  to 
correcte  it,  &  in  so  doyng  they  shal  deserue  thankynges  and  I 
shal  praye  god  for  them,  who  brynge  them  and  me  after  this 
short  and  transytorye  lyf  to  euerlastyng  blysse  Amen.  The 
whyche  werke  was  fynysshed  in  the  reducyng  of  hit  in  to  eng- 
lysshe the  xviii  day  of  Iuyn  the  second  yere  of  kyng  Rychard 
the  thyrd,  And  the  yere  of  our  lord  M.cccc.lxxxv.  And  en- 
prynted  the  fyrst  day  of  decembre  the  same  yere  of  our  lord 
&  the  fyrst  yere  of  kyng  Harry  the  seuenth. 
Explicit  per  William  Caxton. 

The  double  dating  which  the  worthy  translator  and 
printer  gives  so  calmly  has  here  a  special  interest  as  (un- 
less indeed  he  began  setting  up  the  translation  before  it 
was  finished)  it  shows  that  he  was  able  to  print  a  book  of 
considerable  size  between  June  1 8th  and  December  1st, 
and  also  because  between  these  two  dates  Bosworth  Field 
was  lost  and  won,  and  the  English  throne  had  passed  to 


COLOPHONS   OF   AUTHORS  137 

a  new  king,  on  whom  Caxton  was  perhaps  at  first  in- 
clined to  look  with  rather  critical  eyes.  If  this  was  so, 
however,  Henry  VII  found  a  sure  way  to  conciliate  him, 
for  in  the  "  Fayts  of  Arms  "  of  Christine  de  Pisan  we  find 
that  the  translation  and  printing  of  the  book  were  under- 
taken at  the  king's  request,  and  there  is  now  no  lack  of 
honorific  epithets  attached  to  the  mention  of  him. 

Thus  endeth  this  boke  whiche  Cristyne  of  Pyse  made  and 
drewe  out  of  the  boke  named  Vegecius  de  Re  Militari  and  out 
of  th'  Arbre  of  Bataylles  wyth  many  other  thynges  sett  in  to  the 
same  requisite  to  werre  and  batailles.  Whiche  boke  beyng  in 
Frenshe  was  delyuered  to  me  William  Caxton  by  the  most 
crysten  kynge  and  redoubted  prynce  my  natural  and  souerayn 
lord  kyng  Henry  the  VII,  kyng  of  Englond  and  of  Fraunce  in 
his  palais  of  Westmestre  the  xxiii  day  of  Ianyuere  the  iiii  yere 
of  his  regne  and  desired  and  wylled  me  to  translate  this  said 
boke  and  reduce  it  in  to  our  English  and  natural  tonge,  and  to 
put  it  in  enprynte  to  thende  that  euery  gentylman  born  to 
armes  and  all  manere  men  of  werre,  captayns,  souldiours,  vyt- 
ayllers  and  all  other,  shold  haue  knowlege  how  they  ought  to 
behaue  theym  in  the  fayttes  of  warre  and  of  bataylles,  and  so 
delyuered  me  the  said  book  thenne,  my  lord  th'  Erie  of  Oxen- 
ford  away  ting  on  his  said  grace,  Whyche  volume  conteynyng  four 
bokes  I  receyued  of  his  said  grace  and  according  to  his  desire, 
whiche  to  me  I  repute  a  comandement,  and  verili  glad  to  obeye, 
and  after  the  lityl  connyng  that  God  hath  lente  me  I  haue  en- 
deuoyrd  me  to  the  vtterest  of  my  power  to  fulfylle  and  accom- 
plisshe  his  desire  and  comaundement,  as  wel  to  reduce  it  in  to 
englyshe  as  to  put  it  in  enprinte,  to  thende  that  it  may  come 
to  the  sight  and  knowlege  of  euery  gentylman  and  man  of  warre. 
And  for  certayn  in  myn  oppinyon  it  is  as  necessary  a  boke  and 
as  requisite  as  ony  may  be  for  euery  estate  hye  and  lowe  that 
entende  to  the  fayttes  of  werre,  whether  it  be  in  bataylles, 
sieges,  rescowse,  and  all  other  fayttes,  subtyltees  and  remedyes 
for  meschieues.  Whiche  translacyon  was  finysshed  the  viii  day 
of  Iuyll  the  sayd  yere  and  enprynted  the  xiiii  day  of  Iuyll  next 


138  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

folowyng  and  ful  fynyshyd.  Thenne  syth  I  haue  obeyed  his 
most  dredeful  comaundement  I  humbly  byseche  his  most  exellent 
and  bounteuous  hyenes  to  pardone  me  of  this  symple  and  rude 
translacion,  where  in  be  no  curyous  ne  gaye  termes  of  rethoryk, 
but  I  hope  to  almighti  God  that  it  shal  be  entendyble  and  vn- 
derstanden  to  euery  man  and  also  that  it  shal  not  moche  varye 
in  sentence  fro  the  copye  receyued  of  my  said  souerayn  lord. 
And  where  as  I  haue  erryd  or  made  defaulte  I  beseche  them 
that  fynde  suche  to  correcte  it  and  so  dooyng  I  shal  praye  for 
them,  and  yf  ther  be  ony  thyng  therin  to  his  pleasir  I  am  glad 
and  thinke  my  labour  wel  enployed  for  to  haue  the  name  to  be 
one  of  the  litel  seruantes  to  the  hiest  and  most  cristen  kyng 
and  prince  of  the  world,  whom  I  byseche  almyghty  God  to 
preserue  kepe  and  contynue  in  his  noble  and  most  redoubted 
enterpryses,  as  wel  in  Bretayn,  Flaundres  and  other  placis,  that 
he  may  haue  victorie,  honour  and  renommee  to  his  perpetual 
glorye.  For  I  haue  not  herd  ne  redde  that  ony  prynce  hath 
subdued  his  subgettis  with  lasse  hurte  &c  and  also  holpen  his 
neighbours  and  frendis  out  of  this  londe,  In  whyche  hye  enter- 
prises I  byseche  almyghty  God  that  he  may  remayne  alleway 
vyctoryous  And  dayly  encreace  fro  vertu  to  vertue,  and  fro 
better  to  better  to  his  laude  &  honour  in  this  present  lyf,  that 
after  thys  short  and  transitorye  lyf  he  may  atteyne  to  euerlast- 
yng  lyf  in  heuen,  whiche  God  graunte  to  hym  and  to  alle  his 
lyege  peple     Amen. 


Passing  now  from  authors  and  semi-authors  (if  we  may 
invent  such  a  class  to  do  honor  to  Caxton)  to  editors 
of  a  more  ordinary  stamp,  we  shall  find  that  they,  or 
the  printers  who  hired  them,  in  their  anxiety  to  mag- 
nify their  achievements,  have  frequent  recourse  to  the 
opportunities  offered  by  colophons.  For  unflinching 
and  pretentious  self-advertisement  the  palm,  as  far  as  my 
experience  reaches,  must  be  given  to  Bartolommeo  Ce- 
polla,  who  collected  and  edited  the  "consilia,"  or  coun- 
sel's opinions,  of  Paulus  de  Castro,  a  celebrated  jurist : 


COLOPHONS   OF   AUTHORS  139 

Si  quis  rerum  omnium  naturas  inspexerit:  vnamquamque  non 
minus  suo  ordine  quam  partibus  constare  facile  intelliget.  Nee 
qui  pro  construendis  edibus  structori  materiam  parat  sed  qui 
pro  consummati  operis  expeditione  dispositam  artificiose  con- 
nectit  domum  edificare  perhibetur:  eique  iure  optimo  archi- 
tect! dum  taxat  nomen  indidimus.  Nemo  namque  sane  men- 
tis plineturgos  aut  cementarios  edificatores  merito  nuncupabit, 
hi  licet  coctilia  ac  reliquia  pro  ceteris  conglutinandis  particulis 
administrent:  hominem  neque  progenuisse  naturam  iudica- 
remus  si  hominis  crura  vertebris  vero  ac  inguinibus  caput  et 
humeros  addidisset,  quando  quidem  et  si  nullius  portiuncule 
integritate  caruisset  solius  tamen  situs  incongruitate  monstru- 
osa  res  non  rationis  particeps  animal  diceretur.  Cum  itaque 
clarissimi  ac  excellentissimi  iureconsulti  Pauli  Castrensis  di- 
lapsa  undique  neque  in  unum  corpus  redacta  consilia  cerneren- 
tur  non  ea  fuisse  edita  seu  composita  dici  posse  videbant[ur], 
ac  deperiisse  potius  tantum  opus  tamque  elegantissimum  quam 
in  lucem  peruenisse  merito  arbitraretur,  communi  studentium 
utilitati  parens,  quibus  maxima  pro  eorum  beniuolentia  sum- 
misque  in  eum  benemeritis  seipsum  debere  fatetur,  insignis 
eques  et  comes  ac  iuris  ciuilis  et  pontificii  interpres  famosis- 
simus  Bartholomeus  Cepolla  Veronensis,  aduocatus  consistori- 
alis,  in  florentissimo  gymnasio  Patauino  ordinariam  iuris  ciuilis 
de  mane  publice  legens,  singula  queque  ab  eo  clarissimo  uiro 
hinc  inde  consulta  colligere  elaborauit:  fieri  etiam  unum  rein- 
tegratum  volumen  (quod  merito  Repertorium  Pauli  Castren- 
sis appellamus)  ad  faciliorem  doctrinam  capescendam  curauit 
ac  omnibus  eius  professionis  imposterum  accomodatum  patere 
studuit.  Idque  impressoria  arte  Nurnberge  de  mense  Octobris 
M.cccc.lxxxv  Indictione  tercia:  per  Anthonium  Koburger  ac- 
tum est  et  diligentia  completum. 


Any  one  who  has  examined  the  natures  of  things  in  general  will 
easily  understand  that  each  of  them  is  the  result  quite  as  much 
of  its  arrangement  as  of  its  parts.  Nor  is  he  who  makes  ready 
the  material  for  the  mason  to  construct  a  dwelling  considered  to 
be  the  builder  of  the  house,  but  rather  he  who  skilfully  com- 


140  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

bines  the  material  available  for  the  furtherance  of  the  complete 
work,  and  by  the  best  right  it  is  only  to  this  man  that  we  have 
given  the  name  of  architect.  For  no  one  in  his  right  mind  will 
entitle  tilers  and  bricklayers  builders,  although  they  furnish  the 
bricks  and  what  else  is  wanted  for  cementing  together  the  other 
parts,  nor  should  we  judge  nature  to  have  given  birth  to  a 
man  if  a  man's  legs  had  been  added  to  his  vertebrae  and  a  head 
and  shoulders  to  his  middle,  since  although  every  portion  were 
there  in  its  entirety,  yet  merely  from  the  incongruity  of  their 
position  the  result  would  be  called  a  monstrosity,  not  an  animal 
partaking  of  reason.  So  when  of  the  most  famous  and  excellent 
counsellor  Paulus  Castrensis  the  Opinions  were  perceived  to 
have  been  scattered  abroad  and  not  brought  together  into  one 
body,  it  seemed  impossible  to  speak  of  them  as  having  been 
edited  or  compiled,  and  it  might  justly  be  thought  that  this 
great  and  most  elegant  work  had  rather  utterly  perished  than 
been  brought  to  the  light  of  day.  Obeying  therefore  the  con- 
venience of  students,  to  whom  he  acknowledges  himself  in- 
debted for  their  great  good  will  and  many  services  to  him,  a 
noble  knight  and  count  and  very  renowned  exponent  alike  of 
civil  and  papal  law,  Bartholomeus  Cepolla  of  Verona,  an  advo- 
cate of  the  consistorial  court,  who  lectures  publicly  of  a  morn- 
ing in  the  most  flourishing  University  of  Padua  on  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  civil  law,  has  taken  the  pains  to  gather  from  all 
sides  all  the  individual  opinions  given  by  that  most  distin- 
guished man,  and  has  arranged,  in  order  that  his  teaching  may 
more  easily  be  understood,  for  the  publication  of  a  single  reno- 
vated volume,  which  we  rightly  call  the  Repertory  of  Paulus 
Castrensis,  and  has  made  it  his  care  that  this  should  be  available 
in  future  for  all  of  his  profession,  and  this  by  the  printer's  art 
has  been  finished  and  diligently  completed  at  Nuremberg  in 
October,  1485,  the  third  indiction,  by  Anton  Koburger. 

A  more  normal  example  of  the  custom  of  blaming  pre- 
vious printers  and  editors — and  it  must  be  owned  that 
the  accusations  hurled  at  them  are,  as  a  rule,  much  better 
justified  than  the  vituperator's  assertions  of  his  own  su- 


fh^pus  pcne  oiuinum  celeberrimi  wriufqs  cenfiire  to 
p:etis.o,petri  oe  ancbarano  i  materia  ftatuto^  fupena 
cano«fta«DC  coftnqd  pn'us  iRome  tuj  Bononie  3fmpxf 
fom  fuerac  adeo  cozruptum  atq$  inemendatum  raerat  t>z 
do  fcriptoaim  z  impzzfto?  incur  ia  t?t  injc  tantt  viri  opus 
obteneba  turn  fojeunmc  veto  p  Benedicwm  bectoas  li 
barium  p:fus  magna  arte  caftigatum  Demu$  ozigmali  p 
p?io  rcpeno  enuclearius  cmedatum  edttum  .eft  quo  fi  vc 
ra  fateri  licet  z  multa  fr  uftra  addita  oerrap't  z  ma  102a  dc 
tracta  adidit  impzef fuqs  fideli tcr  in  eadem  ciut rate  £0 
nonie-Sfono  &omini.A&xcccAmniUenio  nonas, 
ttpfik 

ClRegiHrum  bufus  operia. 

a.ti.BaUCuj^Jij.£.uj.f.iii# 


Petrus  de  Ancharano.      Repetitio.     Bologna  :  Jo.  Jac.  de  Benedictis  for 
Benedictus  Hectoris,  1493. 


1 42  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

periority — may  be  taken  from  another  law-book,  a  lec- 
ture or  commentary  by  Petrus  de  Ancharano,  printed  and, 
as  he  asserts,  edited  by  Benedictus  Hectoris  at  Bologna. 

Opus  pene  diuinum  celeberrimi  vtriusque  censure  interpretis 
d.  Petri  de  Ancharano  in  materia  statutorum  super  caput  cano- 
num  statuta  de  constitutionibus,  quod  prius  Rome  turn  Bononie 
Impressum  fuerat,  adeo  corruptum  atque  inemendatum  fuerat 
vitio  scriptorum  et  impressorum  incuria  vt  vix  tanti  viri  opus 
obtenebratum  foret:  nunc  vero  per  Benedictum  Hectoris  libra- 
Hum  prius  magna  arte  castigatum,demum  originali  proprio  re- 
perto  enucleatius  emendatum,  editum  est,  quo  si  vera  fateri 
licet  et  multa  frustra  addita  detraxit  et  maiora  detracta  addidit 
impressitque  fideliter  in  eadem  ciuitate  Bononie.  Anno  Domini 
M.cccc.lxxxxiij.  tertio  nonas  Augusti. 

The  little  less  than  divine  work  of  the  most  famous  interpreter 
of  both  codes,  Dom.  Petrus  de  Ancharano,  in  the  matter  of 
the  statutes,  on  the  chapter  "Canonum  statuta  de  constitutioni- 
bus," which  first  at  Rome,  afterwards  at  Bologna,  had  been 
printed,  by  the  fault  of  copyists  and  the  carelessness  of  the 
printers,  so  corruptly  and  with  so  little  correction  that  the  work 
of  so  great  a  man  was  hardly  shadowed  out,  now,  on  the  other 
hand,  by  Benedictus  Hectoris,  stationer,  has  first  with  great 
skill  been  corrected  and  then  by  the  discovery  of  the  author's 
original  more  purely  emended,  and  so  published,  whereby,  if 
truth  may  be  told,  he  has  both  removed  many  vain  additions 
and  has  added  more  things  that  had  been  removed,  and  has 
faithfully  printed  it  in  the  same  city  of  Bologna  in  the  year  of 
the  Lord  1493,  on  August  3d. 

Legal  works  are  usually  crabbed  reading  in  themselves, 
and  in  the  fifteenth  century  were  made  infinitely  more 
so  by  the  multiplicity  of  contractions  used  in  printing 
them.  It  might  seem  natural,  therefore,  that  there  should 
be  a  special  difficulty  in  obtaining  correctness  in  these 
texts.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  to  whatever  department  of 


COLOPHONS    OF   AUTHORS  143 

knowledge  we  turn,  we  shall  still  find  the  fifteenth-century 
editor  exclaiming  against  the  wickedness  of  his  prede- 
cessors. Thus,  if  we  go  to  divinity,  we  may  find  as  loud 
complaints  as  any  law  lecturer  could  formulate  in  the 
colophon  to  the  Hagenau  edition  of  Gabriel  Biel's  ser- 
mon on  the  Lord's  Passion. 

Dominice  passionis  trium  partium  notabilium  sermo  preclarus 
domini  Gabrielis  Biel  supranotati.  Qui  olim  negligenter:  ex 
mendoso  exemplari:  etsub  falso  titulo  impressus,  postea  emen- 
datus  ex  originali  et  per  prefatum  Florentium  diel  diligenter 
revisus:  in  laudem  altissimi  innovatus  clariusque  interstinctus 
atque  emendatus:  non  modo  in  sententiarum  quarundam  de- 
fectibus:  verum  etiam  in  orthographia.  Et  in  imperiali  opido 
hagenau  impressus. 

The  excellent  sermon  of  the  above-mentioned  Dom  Gabriel 
Biel  on  the  three  noteworthy  parts  of  the  Lord's  Passion, 
which  formerly  was  carelessly  printed  from  a  faulty  copy  and 
under  a  wrong  title,  afterwards  corrected  from  the  original  and 
diligently  revised  by  the  aforesaid  Florentinus  Diel,  unto  the 
glory  of  the  Most  High  has  been  renovated,  more  clearly  di- 
vided, and  emended,  not  only  in  the  defects  of  certain  sentences 
but  also  in  the  spelling,  and  printed  in  the  imperial  town  of 
Hagenau. 

To  print  a  book  (i)  carelessly,  (ii)  from  a  faulty  copy,  and 
(iii)  under  a  wrong  title  was  really  reprehensible,  yet 
after  all  this  detraction  there  is  something  quite  pleasing 
in  coming  across  a  colophon  like  that  to  S.  Augustine's 
Exposition  on  the  Psalms,  in  which  Johann  von  Amer- 
bach  of  Basel,  instead  of  vilifying  his  predecessors,  is  con- 
tent to  appeal  to  the  judgment  of  experts  in  matters  of 
editing  and  textual  criticism. 

Post  exactam  diligentemque  emendationem.  Auctoredeo:  per- 
fectum   est  insigne  atque  preclarum  hoc  opus   explanationis 


i44  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

psalmorum  :  Diui  ac  magni  doctoris  Augustini.  Opus  reuera 
maiori  commendatione  se  dignum  exhibens  legentibus,  quam 
quibusvis  verbis  explicari  possit:  vt  ex  prefatione  et  prologo 
ipsius  evidenter  colligi  potest.  Quanto  vero  studio  et  accura- 
tione  castigatum  :  emendatum  :  et  ordinatum  sit:  hi  iudicent 
qui  illud  aliis  similibus  sibi:  siue  manuscriptis:  siue  ere  impres- 
sis  litteris  contulerint.  Consummatum  Basilee  per  magistrum 
Ioannem  de  Amerbach  Anno  Domini  M.cccc.lxxxix. 

After  exact  and  diligent  revision,  by  the  help  of  God,  this  re- 
nowned and  excellent  work  has  been  completed,  the  Explana- 
tion of  the  Psalms  of  the  divine  and  great  doctor  Augustine,  a 
work  in  very  truth  approving  itself  to  its  readers  as  worthy 
of  greater  praise  than  can  be  unfolded  in  any  words,  as  can 
plainly  be  gathered  from  its  preface  and  prologue.  But  with 
how  much  study  and  accuracy  it  has  been  corrected,  emended, 
and  set  in  order,  let  those  judge  who  have  compared  it  with 
other  texts  like  itself,  whether  in  manuscript  or  in  brass-printed 
letters.  Finished  at  Basel  by  Master  Johann  von  Amerbach 
a.d.  1489. 

Perhaps  even  more  cheering  than  this  pleasant  and  rea- 
sonable self-confidence  is  the  mild  shadow  of  an  oath,  a 
simple  "Hercule,"  with  which  Heinrich  Quentell  as- 
severates that  his  edition  of  the  DeVeritate  of  S.Thomas 
Aquinas  truly  rejoices  in  the  true  title  of  truth !  We  may 
note  also  the  little  arrangement  by  which  the  printer 
contrived  to  bring  his  work  to  an  end  on  the  very  day  of 
the  saint's  festival. 

Diui  Thome  aquinatis  doctoris  angelici  illuminatissimi  summa 
de  veritate,  per  theozophie  professorem  eximium,  Magistrum 
Theodericum  de  Susteren,  insignis  conuentus  Coloniensis  or- 
dinis  fratrum  Predicatorum  regentem  profundissimum,  denuo 
peruigili  studio  in  luculentam  erecta  consonantiam,  adeo  her- 
cule vt  vere  vero  veritatis  titulo  gaudeat.  Impressa  Agrippine 
opera  atque  impensis  prouidi  viri  Henrici  Quentell,  ciuis  eius- 


COLOPHONS   OF   AUTHORS  145 

dem.  Anno  salutis  humane  nonagesimonono  supra  millesi- 
mum  quadringentesimum  Ipso  die  celebritatis  autoris  cursu 
felici  ad  finem  vsque  perducta. 

The  Summa  de  Veritate  (Epitome  of  Truth)  of  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas,  the  angelic  and  most  illuminate  doctor,  by  the  dis- 
tinguished professor  of  divine  learning  Theoderic  of  Susteren, 
a  regent  deeply  versed  of  the  famous  Cologne  Convent  of  the 
order  of  Preaching  Friars,  newly  by  assiduous  study  restored  to 
a  fruitful  harmony,  so  by  Hercules  that  it  truly  rejoices  in  the 
true  title  of  Truth,  and  printed  at  Cologne  by  the  efforts  and  at 
the  expense  of  the  prudent  Heinrich  Quentell,  citizen  of  the 
same,  in  the  year  of  man's  salvation  1499,  has  been  brought 
with  favorable  course  even  unto  completion  on  the  very  festival 
of  its  author. 

In  all  these  books  editors  could  have  had  no  difficulties 
to  deal  with  save  those  which  arise  when  texts  are  copied 
and  recopied  with  the  inevitable  introduction  of  small 
errors  at  every  stage,  and  perhaps  some  even  more  dan- 
gerous attempts  to  correct  those  already  made.  But  in 
one  class  of  printing,  that  of  liturgical  books,  in  which 
absolute  accuracy  of  text  and  punctuation  was  of  supreme 
importance,  the  need  for  careful  supervision  was  really 
very  great, — so  much  so,  indeed,  that  the  great  bulk  of 
liturgical  printing  was  entrusted  to  firms  who  made  a 
specialty  of  it.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  some 
special  insistence  on  the  editorial  virtues  of  a  missal- 
printer  ;  and  the  colophon  to  the  Salzburg  Missal  printed 
by  Georg  Stuchs  at  Nuremberg  in  1498  is  interesting 
for  its  detailed  account  of  the  system  of  punctuation. 

Missale  et  de  tempore  et  de  Sanctis  non  modo  secundum  notu- 
lam  metropolitane  ecclesie  Salisburgensis  ordinatum,  verum 
etiam  haud  exigua  opera  adhibita,  turn  in  quottis  foliorum 
locandis,  turn  in  remissionis  discreto  numero  tarn  circa  quam- 


i46  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

libet  lectionem  vel  prophetalem  vel  apostolicam  quam  circa 
quodlibet  euangelium  alio  in  loco  plenarie  locatum,  situando 
reuisum.  Deinde  autem  per  cola  et  comata  distinctum.  Sim- 
plici  puncto  in  collectis  secretis  complendis  lectionibus  epistolis 
et  euangeliis  locato  colum  indicante,  gemino  uero  puncto 
coma  significante :  sed  in  introitu  graduali  alleluia  sequentiis 
offertoris  et  communione  puncto  simplici  locato  mediam  dis- 
tinctionem  que  comatis  appellatione  venit  presentante,  gemino 
autem  puncto  subdistinctionem  que  colum  nuncupatur  signante. 
Demum  uero  in  officina  Georii  [sic]  Stochs  ex  Sulczpach,  ciuis 
Nurnbergensis,  expensa  Ioannis  Ryman  impressum.  Idibus 
Augusti  anni  ab  incarnatione  Messye  nonagesimi  octaui  supra 
millesimum  quadragintesimum :  finit. 

A  missal  both  for  the  seasons  and  saints' days,  not  only  arranged 
according  to  the  order  of  the  metropolitan  church  of  Salzburg, 
but  also  revised  with  no  small  pains,  both  in  setting  down  the 
numbers  of  the  leaves  and  in  assigning  a  distinctly  numbered 
reference  for  every  lesson,  whether  taken  from  the  books  of  the 
Prophets  or  of  the  Apostles,  and  also  for  every  gospel  placed 
elsewhere  in  its  full  form:  Distinguished,  moreover,  by  colons 
and  commas:  in  the  Collects, Secrets,  Post  Communions,  Lessons, 
Epistles  and  Gospels,  the  placing  of  a  single  point  denoting  a 
colon,  a  double  point  signifying  a  comma;  but  in  the  Introit, 
Gradual,  Alleluia,  Sequences,  Offertory  and  Communion  the 
placing  of  a  single  point  indicating  the  middle  distinction  which 
goes  by  the  name  of  a  comma,  the  double  point  the  subdistinc- 
tion  which  is  called  a  colon.  Now  at  last  printed  in  the  work- 
shop of  Georg  Stuchs  of  Sulzbach,  citizen  of  Nuremberg,  at 
the  expense  of  Johann  Ryman,  and  completed  on  the  13th 
August  of  the  year  from  the  Messiah's  incarnation  1498. 

In  a  Roman  missal  printed  by  G.  Arrivabenus  &  P.  de 
Paganinis  at  Venice  in  1484  the  colophon  alludes  to  the 
common  practice  of  correcting  the  text  of  a  printed 
missal  by  hand,  sometimes  to  bring  it  up  to  date,  but  also 
for  the  elimination  of  the  printer's  errors.      In  this  case 


COLOPHONS   OF   AUTHORS  147 

the  printers  make  bold  to  say  that  their  text  is  so  correct 
that  any  one  who  tampers  with  it  rashly  is  as  likely  to 
turn  right  into  wrong  as  wrong  into  right. 

<£w\\ar  m?fla!efecudumo2croira 
neccdefierfumrna  cu  otligenria  *& 
deli  ftudtopurgariiab  bis  crronV: 
obusuel  igno2aria  uel  incunalftwa 
no2ii  adducriscomunis  abufueiii' 
iialim.i©uocircagcunq5lcgcnt:ob 
fecraru  ueli  ne  adbibeat  manu  pctpt 
rc5adco22igcd§  ucl  poriuacorupc 
da?  libit  rccrim  dine  magno  parra  la 
bo:e:fedmiiIriplicarofinceroejcami 
ne:poftmodu  crequaf  qcad  recra  ra 
rio:r  fpm^uerirans  ingeiierir :  2Jd 
laudeoiporeriTDeicfdfltme  uirgis 
fnatrieei9:totiafq?  curie  celeftis- 
Snip2eflb5  ueneriiaarte  *  impefis 
jeg'eosgii  Dcriuabents  mantiiant:? 
^agammoepaganinie  tomamfo 
a'02U5  tfubSfoclrto^uce^oaniie 
^ocenico*qirinro  Iftf*  ocrob2ie. 
i&ccccJLnniu.       ZUncn. 

Roman  Missal.      Venice:   G.  Arriuabenus  and  P.  de  Paganinis,  1484. 


Explicit  missale  secundum  morem  romane  ecclesie,  summa 
cum  diligentia  et  fideli  studio  purgatum  ab  his  erroribus  quibus 
uel  ignorantiauel  incuria  librariorum  adductis  communis  abusus 
inualuit.  Quocirca  quicunque  legerit  obsecratum  uelim  ne 
adhibeat  manum  precipitem  ad  corrigendam  uel  potius  corrum- 


148  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

pendam  libri  rectitudinem  magno  partam  labore,  sed  multipli- 
cato  sincero  examine  postmodum  exequatur  quicquid  recta 
ratio  et  spiritus  veritatis  ingesserit.  Ad  laudem  omnipotentis 
dei  et  sanctissime  uirginis  matris  eius,  totiusque  curie  celestis. 
Impressum  Venetiis  arte  et  impensis  Georgii  de  Riuabenis 
Mantuani  et  Paganini  de  Paganinis  Brixiani  sociorum:  sub 
Inclyto  duce  Ioanne  Mocenico,  quinto  kalendas  octobris. 
M.cccclxxxiiii.     Amen. 

Here  ends  the  Missal  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Roman 
Church,  with  the  utmost  diligence  and  faithful  study  purged 
from  the  errors  with  which,  introduced  by  the  ignorance  and 
carelessness  of  copyists,  the  common  perversion  became  estab- 
lished. Wherefore  I  would  pray  whoever  reads  it  not  to  lay 
hasty  hands  to  the  correction,  or  rather  corruption,  of  the 
accuracy  of  the  book,  which  was  obtained  only  by  great  labor; 
but  let  him  examine  it  again  and  again  with  a  single  heart  and 
thereafter  carry  out  whatever  right  reason  and  the  spirit  of  truth 
suggest.  To  the  praise  of  Almighty  God  and  of  the  most 
holy  Virgin  his  Mother,  and  of  all  the  court  of  heaven. 
Printed  at  Venice  by  the  skill  and  at  the  charges  of  Georgio  di 
Arrivabene  of  Mantua  and  Paganino  dei  Paganini  of  Brescia, 
partners,under  the  renowned  doge  Giovanni  Mocenigo,  27  Sep- 
tember, 1484.     Amen. 

Somewhat  in  the  same  spirit  as  the  boast  of  the  Venetian 
missal-printers,  we  find  Koberger  declaring — let  us 
hope,  after  consulting  ecclesiastical  authorities — that  his 
edition  of  the  Revelations  of  S.  Bridget  is  so  complete 
that  if  any  one  produces  additional  revelations  they 
may  be  dismissed  as  spurious. 

Finit  diuinum  volumen  omnium  celestium  Reuelationum  pre- 
electe  sponse  christi  sancte  Birgitte  de  regno  Suetie.  A  religi- 
osis  patribus  originalis  monasterii  sanctarum  Marie  et  Brigitte 
in  Watzstenis,  prematuro  studio  et  exquisita  diligentia,  in  hos 
suprascriptos  numerum  et  ordinem  accuratius  comportatum. 


COLOPHONS    OF   AUTHORS  149 

Et  si  forte  alique  alie  reuelationes,  sicut  repertum  est,  beate 
Brigitte  per  errorem  aut  temerarie  a  quoque  quomodolibet  as- 
cribantur,  preter  has  que  in  hoc  presenti  volumine  aut  in  vita 
seu  legenda  sancte  Birgitte  maiori  continentur,  tanquam  false 
et  erronee  decernentur. 

Insuper  iam  alterato  per  Anthonium  Koberger  ciuem  Nu- 
rembergensem  impresse  finiunt.  Anno  domini  M.ccccc.  xxi. 
mensis  Septembris.    Laus  omnipotenti  deo.    Amen. 

Here  ends  the  divine  volume  of  all  the  heavenly  Revelations 
of  the  preelect  spouse  of  Christ,  Saint  Bridget  of  the  kingdom 
of  Sweden.  The  religious  fathers  of  the  original  monastery  of 
Saints  Mary  and  Bridget  in  Wadstena,bymost  mature  study  and 
extraordinary  diligence,  have  reduced  them  more  accurately  to 
the  above  number  and  arrangement.  And  if  haply,  as  has  been 
found  the  case,  other  revelations  are  through  error  or  care- 
lessness by  any  one  or  in  any  manner  ascribed  to  the  blessed 
Bridget  besides  those  contained  in  this  present  volume  or  in 
the  larger  Life  or  Legend  of  Saint  Bridget,  they  shall  be  treated 
as  false  and  erroneous. 

Printed  now  for  the  second  time  by  Anton  Koberger,  citizen 
of  Nuremberg,  and  brought  to  an  end  on  September  21st,  a.d. 
1500.     Praise  be  to  Almighty  God.     Amen. 

Of  the  views  of  the  editors  of  classical  texts  we  have  al- 
ready had  some  specimens  in  some  of  the  early  Venetian 
colophons.  That  of  Filippo  da  Lavagna  to  his  edition 
of  the  Epistolae  Familiares  of  Cicero  (Milan,  1472)  is, 
however,  of  considerable  interest,  and  tells  us,  moreover, 
the  number  of  copies  printed,  besides  conveying  a  stray 
hint  to  the  students  of  the  day  that  the  production  of 
further  editions  of  the  same  excellence  would  depend  on 
the  liberality  of  their  support. 

Epistolarum  Familiarium  M.  Tull.  Cic.  multa  uolumina  in  di- 
uersis  Italiae  locis  hac  noua  impressorum  arte  transcripta  sunt, 
que  si  ut  plurima  numero  ita  etiam  studio  satis  correcta  essent 


Epiftola^  Familiarium  M.TulL  Cic  •  multa  uoluminafn 
diuerfis  italiae  locis  bac  noua  Impreflby.  arte  tranfcnpca 
font  que  li  tit  plurima  numero  ita  e  tia  ftudio  fads  correcfta 
eflenc  nouo  boc  labore  non  f uifTet  opus  Sed  tanco  err oy, 
numero  confunduntur  ut  non  modo  littere  pro  litteris  & 
pro  uerbis  uerba  pertarbatiflime  inuoluta  uey  etia  epif' 
tole  in  epiftolas  hbn  in  hbros  fie  snueniatur  ccnfufi  ne  t am 
do&oip  dtligetia  ad  comurie  utilitate  cofec^ta^auarilTio^ 
bominu  cupiditate  lucri  gratia  fcftinandc  couoluta  cotorta 
cotaminataqj  manifefte  uidean^quecum  audirem  ex  urns 
cum  dodtiflimis  turn  etiam  prudentiffimis  egoPbilippus 
L  auagna  cxuis  Mediolanenfis  ucprouinli  mea  aliquaex 
parte  meisciuibus;pdefle  nacftns  exeplar  corredtidimum 
ftudio  diligermflimo  bommu  docftrina  prf  ftatium  trecenta 
uolumia  excribendacura  opera  adbibita  ut  fingule  pagine 
antea  qm  ipnmerent  ab  aliquo  docfto^  perleche  effent  &C 
caftfgate  quem  ego  labore  nifi  profudiffe  uidebor  pf  cracj 
in  futu  if  accuratiffime  ut  trafcribant  laborabo  no  minors 
publkf  qm  me$  ucilitatis  raticne  fer  uata. 

Barbara  cum  Marci  uerbiis  admixta  legebas 
Hunc  lege  quod  uerum  eft  boc  Ciceronis  opus 

Virgo  decus  coeli  Cbrifti  fane  tiff  ima  mater 
Laus  tibi  cum  nato  fit  fine  Fine  tuo 

M.  CCCC  LXXII  VIII  KL.  AFRILES 

Cicero.      Epistolae  Familiares.    Milan:   Lavagna,  1472. 


COLOPHONS    OF   AUTHORS  151 

nouo  hoc  labore  non  fuisset  opus.  Sed  tanto  errorum  numero 
confunduntur  ut  non  modo  littere  pro  litteris  et  pro  uerbis 
uerba  perturbatissime  inuoluta,  uerum  etiam  epistole  in  episto- 
las,  libri  in  libros,  sic  inueniantur  confusi,  ne  tarn  doctorum  dili- 
gentia  ad  communem  utilitatem  confecta  quam  auarissimorum 
hominum  cupiditate  lucri  gratia  festinando  conuoluta  contorta 
contaminataque  manifeste  uideantur.  Que  cum  audirem  ex 
uiris  cum  doctissimis  turn  etiam  prudentissimis  ego  Philippus 
Lauagna,  ciuis  Mediolanensis,  ut  pro  uirili  mea  aliqua  ex  parte 
meis  ciuibus  prodessem,  nactus  exemplar  correctissimum,  studio 
diligentissimo  hominum  doctrina  prestantium,  trecenta  uolu- 
mina  exscribenda  curaui,  opera  adhibita  ut  singule  pagine  antea 
quam  imprimerentur  ab  aliquo  doctorum  perlecte  essent  et  cas- 
tigate: quern  ego  laborem  nisi  profudisse  uidebor  pleraque  in 
futurum  accuratissime  ut  transcribantur  laborabo  non  minori 
publice  quam  mee  utilitatis  ratione  seruata. 

Barbara  cum  Marci  uerbis  admixta  legebas: 
Hunc  lege  quod  verum  est  hoc  Ciceronis  opus. 

Virgo  decus  coeli  Christi  sanctissime  mater 
Laus  tibi  cum  nato  sit  sine  fine  tuo. 

M.cccc.lxxii.  viii  kal.  Apriles. 

Of  the  Familiar  Letters  of  M.  Tullius  Cicero  many  volumes 
have  been  copied  in  different  places  of  Italy  by  this  new  art  of 
the  printers,  and  if  these,  as  they  are  many  in  number,  were 
also  zealously  and  sufficiently  corrected,  there  had  been  no 
need  for  this  new  work.  But  they  are  confused  by  so  many 
errors  that  not  only  are  letters  and  words  substituted  for  one 
another  in  a  most  disorderly  tangle,  but  also  whole  epistles  and 
books  are  found  so  confused  with  others  that  the  result  plainly 
appears  not  so  much  a  compilation  by  the  diligence  of  learned 
men  for  the  common  profit,  as  some  tangled  and  contorted 
mass  of  corruptions  produced  by  the  greed  of  the  avaricious 
by  hurrying  for  the  sake  of  gain.  This  when,  by  the  report 
of  most  learned  and  also  prudent  men,  I,  Philip  Lavagna,  a 
citizen  of  Milan,  understood,  in  the  hope  of  doing  a  man's  part 
in   benefiting  in  some  respect  my  fellow-citizens,  I   obtained 


152  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

by  the  most  diligent  zeal  a  very  correct  copy  with  the  help  of 
distinguished  scholars,  and  made  it  my  business  to  have  300 
volumes  written  out,  attention  being  paid  that  each  page,  before 
it  was  printed  off,  should  be  read  over  and  corrected  by  one  of 
the  doctors.  And  unless  I  shall  find  that  I  have  wasted  this 
labor,  I  will  make  it  my  business  that  many  other  texts  for 
the  future  shall  be  most  accurately  copied,  the  interests  of  the 
public  being  as  carefully  preserved  as  my  own. 

With  Tully's  words  once  phrases  rude  were  twined: 
Here  uncorrupted  Cicero  you  shall  find. 

Glory  of  heaven,  Christ's  mother,  holiest  maid, 
Ever  to  thee,  with  him,  all  praise  be  paid. 
25  March,  1472. 

Even  better  than  this,  however,  is  the  colophon  to  the 
Brescia  Lucretius,  in  which  we  see  the  editor  dismayed 
at  first  by  the  obvious  defects  of  his  copy,  but  resolving 
at  length  to  print  it  on  the  ground  that  his  inability  to 
find  any  other  was  the  best  proof  of  its  rarity. 

Titi  Lucretii  Cari  finis.  Lucretii  unicum  meas  in  manus  cum 
pervenisset  exemplar  de  eo  imprimendo  hesitaui :  quod  erat 
difficile  unico  de  exemplo  quae  librarii  essent  praeterita  negli- 
gentia  ilia  corrigere.  Verum  ubi  alterum  perquisitum  exemplar 
adinuenire  non  potui,  hac  ipsa  motus  difficultate  unico  etiam  de 
exemplari  volui  librum  quam  maxime  rarum  communem  multis 
facere  studiosis  :  siquidem  facilius  erit  pauca  loca  uel  aliunde 
altero  exemplari  extricato  uel  suo  studio  castigare  et  diligentia  : 
quam  integro  carere  uolumine.  Presertim  cum  a  fabulis  quae 
uacuas  (ut  inquit  poeta)  delectant  mentes  remotus  Lucretius 
noster  de  rerum  natura  questiones  tractet  acutissimas  tanto  in- 
genii  acumine  tantoque  lepore  uerborum  ut  omnes  qui  ilium 
secuti  poete  sunt :  eum  ita  suis  in  descriptionibus  imitentur,  et 
Virgilius  presertim,  poetarum  princeps,  ut  ipsis  cum  uerbis  tria 
interdum  et  amplius  metra  suscipiant.  Thoma  Ferando  auc- 
tore. 


COLOPHONS   OF   AUTHORS  153 

The  end  of  Titus  Lucretius  Carus.  When  a  single  copy  of 
Lucretius  came  into  my  hands  I  hesitated  as  to  printing  it,  be- 
cause it  was  difficult  from  a  single  copy  to  correct  the  slips  due 
to  the  carelessness  of  the  copyist.  But  when  by  diligent  search 
I  could  find  no  second  copy,  moved  by  this  very  difficulty  I 
was  minded  even  from  a  single  copy  to  make  a  book  of  the 
greatest  rarity  common  to  many  scholars,  since  it  will  be  easier 
to  correct  a  few  places,  either  by  a  second  copy  unearthed  from 
another  quarter  or  by  one's  own  study  and  diligence,  than  to 
lack  a  whole  volume.  Especially  since,  far  removed  from  the 
fables  which  (as  the  poet  says)  delight  empty  minds,  our  Lu- 
cretius handles  the  keenest  questions  concerning  the  nature  of 
things  with  so  much  intellectual  acumen  and  verbal  elegance 
that  all  the  poets  who  have  followed  him  imitate  him  so  in 
their  descriptions,  more  especially  Virgil,  the  prince  of  poets, 
that  with  his  very  words  they  sometimes  make  three  lines  and 
more.     Thomas  Ferrandus. 


The  name  of  Lucretius  seldom  appears  in  any  of  the  me- 
dieval catalogues,  and  the  number  of  manuscripts  of  his 
"  De  Rerum  Natura"  now  extant  is  so  small  that  his  first 
printer's  plea  may  well  be  received.  Even  in  compara- 
tively modern  books,  indeed,  a  satisfactory  text  was  not 
always  to  be  obtained  for  the  asking.  Chaucer  has  had 
no  more  devout  lover  than  William  Caxton,  and  yet 
when  Caxton  printed  the  "Canterbury  Tales"  he  only 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  manuscript  of  the  worst  class  to 
work  from,  and  when  a  friend  offered  him  a  better  text 
for  his  second  edition  the  improvement  was  very  slight. 
In  the  same  way  we  find  the  anonymous  Florentine  edi- 
tor of  two  tracts  of  Domenico  Cavalca  (we  cannot  be 
wrong  in  assuming  that  the  same  editor  worked  on  both) 
apologizing  for  the  bad  text  from  which  he  printed  the 
first  few  pages  of  the  "Frutti  della  Lingua,"  and  telling 
how  in  the  case  of  the  "Specchio  di  Croce"  he  had  to 


i54  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

collate  a  number  of  copies  in  order  to  replace  them  by 
a  good  printed  edition. 

(i)   Frutti  della  Lingua. 

Impresso  in  Firenze  con  somma  diligentia  emendato  e  correcto, 
excepto  alcuni  fogli  del  principio  di  decto  tractato:  e  tale  de- 
fecto  non  da  nostra  inaduertentia,  ma  da  una  copia  o  uero  ex- 
emplo  tutto  corropto  e  falsificato,  impresso  per  lo  adrieto  in 
firenze  per  un  altro  non  diligente  impressore  precedette.  Onde 
noi  cio  conoscendo,  inuestigando  altra  copia  emendatissima,  se- 
condo  quella,  quanto  ledebole  forze  del  nostro  ingegno  ci  hanno 
porto,  habbiamo  imposto  emendato  fine  al  presente  tractato. 

Printed  in  Florence,  emended  and  corrected  with  the  greatest 
diligence,  except  for  some  leaves  of  the  beginning  of  the  said 
tract,  and  such  defect  not  through  our  inadvertence,  but  from  a 
copy  or  example  wholly  corrupt  and  falsified,  printed  heretofore 
in  Florence  by  another  printer  by  no  means  diligent.  Whence 
we,  on  learning  this,  sought  out  another  copy  of  the  greatest 
correctness,  according  to  which,  to  the  best  of  the  poor  powers 
of  our  mind,  we  have  put  a  revised  ending  to  the  present  tract. 

(ii)  Specchio  di  Croce. 

Impresso  in  Firenze  con  somma  diligentia  correcti:  nella  quale 
correptione  non  poco  habbiamo  insudato  &  affatichatoci :  concio 
sia  che  di  moltissime  copie,  o  vero  exempli  di  questa  utile  ope- 
retta, parte  scripti  in  penna  e  parte  impressi,  nessuno  nhabbiamo 
trouato  correcto,  ma  tutti  aequalmente  incorrecti.  Onde  noi 
(benche  insufficienti)  con  quel  poco  sapere  che  la  natura  ci  ha 
porto,  habbiamo  transcorrendo  di  molti  corropti  facto  uno  quasi 
correpto:  Si  che  preghiamo  li  lectori  di  questa  operetta  da  noi 
impressa  se  in  epsa  alcuna  scorreptione  troueranno,  non  ci  deb- 
bino  biasimare,  se  di  quella  non  pocha  faticha  che  spesa  ci  hab- 
biamo laudare  non  ci  vorranno:  Solo  in  dio  regna  perfectione. 

Printed  in  Florence,  corrected  with  the  utmost  diligence:  in  the 
which  correction  we  have  sweated  and  wearied  ourselves  more 


COLOPHONS   OF   AUTHORS  155 

than  a  little;  whereas  of  very  many  copies  or  examples  of  the 
said  useful  booklet,  some  written  with  pen,  some  printed,  we 
have  found  not  one  correct,  but  all  equally  incorrect.  Whence 
we  (though  ill  equipped),  with  such  little  skill  as  nature  has 
given  us,  have  by  much  revision  made  out  of  many  corrupt 
copies  one  which  may  be  taken  as  correct.  So  that  we  pray 
the  readers  of  this  booklet  printed  by  us,  if  they  shall  find  any 
incorrectness  in  it,  not  to  reproach  us  therefor,  if  they  will  not 
praise  us  for  the  great  trouble  which  we  have  expended.  Per- 
fection reigns  only  in  God. 

No  doubt  the  early  printers  and  the  editors  whom  they 
employed  made  the  most  of  all  these  difficulties ;  yet  they 
must  have  been  real  enough,  so  that,  despite  the  affected 
language  in  which  it  is  phrased,  the  colophon  of  Nicolas 
Kessler  of  Basel  to  his  edition  of  the"Homeliarius  Doc- 
torum"  may  well  command  our  sympathy. 

1^?ecl3ru@meIfaruopu0:plurfmo^rancto^aHo2umuera 
tnofilfimo£Doctoj5&:fU£>  cuagelija  oe  tcpo:e  1  fanctio  quibufdi 
comndcadiunct!0fermombue:£am  verbop  oznaru  I'matu; 
rat?  ten  ten  tiaru  grauira  tc  vberratecp  fparfttn  plantatmin  men 

curialiT^icoIatTRefncrolficinaBarilceimpfilimcSmpcrafet^ 
luftriflimo  jQ&atfmiltatto  rege  ttomano?  inuicttflimo )  I8011 
igif  m  facto:cliuo:i0  rracmoaculw.tbeomno  fcente  conectioi 
m's  infant  .10 ;  S  cd  poriu 0  b en eficij  no  in sra tu 0 : ad  ejebibira  Do 
nariaDiTcreti'oniooculooadbibcascolubmos.Snnoincarna/ 
tionfecnicet/Q^ilIefimoquadringctefimoHonagcfiinoocU? 
tto&wimoHonaoSusufti.finitfcItcitcr. 


Homiliae.      Basel:   N.  Kessler,  1498. 


156  AN    ESSAY   ON   COLOPHONS 

Preclarum  Omeliarum  opus  plurimorum  sanctorum  aliorumue 
famosissimorum  doctorum  super  euangeliis  de  tempore  et  Sanc- 
tis, quibusdam  eorundem  adiunctis  sermonibus,  Tarn  verborum 
ornatu  limatum,  tamque  sententiarum  grauitate  vbertateque 
sparsim  plantatum,  in  mercuriali  Nicolai  Kessler  officina  Basilee 
impressum  (Imperante  illustrissimo  Maximiliano  rege  Roma- 
norum  inuictissimo).  Non  igitur  in  factorem  liuoris  tractus 
aculeo  theonino  dente  correctionis  insanias,  Sed  potius  beneficii 
non  ingratus  ad  exhibita  donaria  discretionis  oculos  adhibeas 
columbinos.  Anno  incarnationis  dominice  millesimo  quad- 
ringentesimo  nonagesimo  octauo  decimo  Nonas  Augusti.  Finit 
feliciter. 

An  excellent  book  of  Homilies  of  many  saints  and  other  most 
famous  teachers  on  the  Gospels  of  the  Seasons  and  the  Saints, 
with  certain  of  their  sermons  added,  polished  with  verbal  orna- 
ment and  with  weighty  and  fruitful  sayings  scattered  all  over 
it:  printed  in  the  mercurial  workshop  of  Nicolas  Kessler  at 
Basel  (the  most  illustrious  Maximilian  the  Unconquered,  King 
of  the  Romans,  being  Emperor).  Do  not  therefore,  impelled 
by  the  sting  of  malice,  rage  against  the  compiler  with  the  small 
satirist's  fang  of  correction;  but  rather,  not  ungrateful  for  a 
benefit,  turn  to  the  offerings  before  you  the  dovelike  eyes  of 
discretion.  In  the  year  of  the  Lord's  incarnation  1498,  on 
the  tenth  of  the  Nones  of  August,  happily  finished. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  pay  of  a  fifteenth-century  "cor- 
rector," when  he  was  paid  at  all,  was  far  from  princely. 
It  is  pleasant,  therefore,  to  find  that  at  least  one  printer, 
the  veteran  Ulrich  Zell,  was  so  genuinely  grateful  to  a 
friendly  priest  who  had  helped  him  in  seeing  Harder- 
wyck's  "Commentaries  on  Logic"  through  the  press  as 
to  make  most  handsome  acknowledgment  in  his  colo- 
phon and  in  verses  added  to  it. 

Commentarii  in  quatuor  libros  noue  logice  processum  burse 
Laurentiane  famosissimi  Agrippinensis  Colonie  gymnasii  con- 


COLOPHONS   OF   AUTHORS  157 

tinentes  per  honorabilem  virum  artium  magistrum  necnon 
sacre  theologie  licentiatum  Gerardum  Herdarwiccensem  actu 
in  eodem  regentem,  ex  diuersis  et  potissimum  Magni  Alberti 
comentarius  collecti,  et  per  Udalricum  Zell  prope  Lyskirchen 
impressoria  artis  in  sancta  Coloniensi  ciuitate  protomagistrum 
fabre  characterizati.  Anno  virginalis  partu  Millesimo  quad- 
ragintesimo  super  nonagesimum  quarto  in  profesto  Conuer- 
sionis  euangelice  tube  Pauli  Apostoli  ad  finem  optatum  sunt 
perducti,  de  quo  sit  deo  uni  et  trino  laus  honor  et  gloria  per 
infinita  seculorum  secula.  Amen.  Ex  quo  in  hoc  tomorum 
stromateo  opere  non  paruo  adiumento  mihi  fuit  honorabilis 
dominus  diue  memorie  I acobus  Amsfordensis, artium  liberalium 
et  sacrarum  litterarum  professor  dum  vitam  in  humanis  ageret 
profundissimus,  Ecclesie  sancti  Iohannis  Baptiste  pastor, mihi  ut 
frater  amicissimus,  decreui  in  cake  horum  titulum  sepulcralem, 
trito  sermone  epitaphium  appellatum,  quern  prestantissimus  et 
generosus  dominus  Rodolphus  Langius,  vir  omnium  litterarum 
laude  cumulatissimus,  ecclesie  Monasteriensis  Canonicus,  in 
eundem  defunctum,  precibus  amicorum  impulsus,  exornauit 
subjungere,  ut  dum  hunc  quos  ab  errore  salutari  exhortatione 
reuocauerit  legerint  apud  altissimum  pro  anima  eius  vitificum 
sacrificium  offerant. 


The  notes  on  the  four  books  of  the  new  logic  containing  the 
process  of  the  Laurentian  bursary  of  the  most  famous  school 
of  Cologne,  by  an  honorable  man,  master  of  arts  and  licen- 
tiate of  sacred  theology,  Gerard  of  Harderwyck,  president  at 
that  function,  brought  together  from  divers  notes  and  specially 
from  those  of  Albertus  Magnus,  and  by  Ulrich  Zell,  near  the 
Lyskirche,  chief  practiser  of  the  printer's  art  in  the  holy  city  of 
Cologne,  skilfully  set  in  type,  in  the  year  of  the  Virgin  Birth 
1494,  on  the  eve  of  the  Conversion  of  the  Gospel-trumpet,  the 
Apostle  Paul,  have  been  brought  to  their  wished-for  end,  for 
which  to  God  the  One  and  Three  let  there  be  praise,  honor, 
and  glory  through  infinite  ages  of  ages.  Amen.  And  because 
in  this  laying  down  of  volumes  I  received  no  small  help  from 
an  honorable   master  of  sacred  memory,  Jakob   of  Amsfort, 


158  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

while  he  lived  among  men  a  most  profound  professor  of  liberal 
arts  and  sacred  literature,  minister  of  the  church  of  Saint  John 
Baptist,  and  to  me  as  a  most  friendly  brother,  I  determined  to 
subjoin  at  the  end  of  all  this  a  sepulchral  inscription,  com- 
monly called  an  epitaph,  which  the  most  excellent  and  well- 
born Dom.  Rudolph  Lange,  a  man  of  great  distinction  in  every 
kind  of  literature,  canon  of  the  monastic  church,  urged  by 
the  prayers  of  friends,  furnished  in  honor  of  the  dead,  that 
while  those  whom  by  his  wholesome  exhortation  he  recalled 
from  error  read  this,  they  may  offer  before  the  Most  High  the 
life-giving  sacrifice  for  his  soul. 

And  the  Epitaph  duly  follows,  though  it  need  not  be 
quoted  here. 


VII 


REPETITIONS,  THEFTS,  AND  ADAPTATIONS 


N  our  opening  chapter  it  was  sug- 
gested that  if  all  early  books  were 
provided  with  colophons  the  work 
of  bibliographers  would  be  much 
simplified.  Some  qualifying  epi- 
thet ought,  however,  to  have  been 
inserted ;  for  there  are  some  colo- 
phons which,  instead  of  simplifying 
the  task  of  assigning  to  every  book  its  place,  printer,  and 
date,  greatly  aggravate  the  bibliographer's  troubles.  Of 
deliberately  untruthful  colophons  I  can,  indeed,  only 
think  of  a  single  fifteenth-century  example  —  that  in  the 
"  Incunabulum  of  Brescia  hitherto  ascribed  to  Florence," 
which  the  late  Mr.  R.  C.  Christie  tracked  down  so 
neatly  in  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Bibliographical  So- 
ciety's Transactions.  This  occurs  in  a  copy  of  some  of 
the  works  of  Politian,  and  reads : 

Impressum  Florentiae:  et  accuratissime  castigatum  opera  et 
impensa  Leonardi  de  Arigis  de  Gesoriaco  Die  decimo  Au- 
gust! M.I.D. 

lS9 


160  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

Printed  at  Florence  and  most  accurately  corrected  by  the  work 
and  at  the  cost  of  Leonardo  dei  Arigi  of  Gesoriaco,  on  the 
tenth  day  of  August,  1499. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  book,  as  Mr.  Christie  showed 
(and  Mr.  Proctor  accepted  his  conclusions),  was  printed 
with  the  types  of  Bernardinus  Misinta  of  Brescia,  and  the 
colophon  which  looks  so  simple  and  straightforward  de- 
ceived bibliographers  for  some  four  centuries.  Even  the 
increased  study  of  types  would  by  itself  hardly  have  suf- 
ficed to  detect  the  fraud,  but  the  fact  that  it  was  alluded 
to,  though  without  mention  of  the  name  of  the  book,  in 
the  petition  of  Aldus  to  the  Venetian  Senate  ( 1 7th  Octo- 
ber, 1502)  put  Mr.  Christie  on  the  track,  and  he  ran  it 
down  with  his  accustomed  neatness  and  precision.  The 
fraud,  of  course,  was  the  direct  outcome  of  the  first  im- 
perfect attempts  to  give  the  producers  of  books  a  reason- 
able copyright  in  them  by  means  of  privileges.  As 
Brescia  was  subject  to  the  Venetian  Senate,  Misinta,  had 
he  put  his  name  in  the  colophon,  could  have  been  pun- 
ished, and  he  therefore  used  a  false  imprint  in  order  to 
divert  suspicion.  When  restrictions,  right  and  wrong, 
multiplied  during  the  sixteenth  century,  false  imprints 
became  increasingly  common,  and  they  form  a  subject  by 
themselves  with  which  we  must  not  here  meddle  farther. 
While  Misinta's  "Politian"  stands  by  itself,  as  far  as  I 
know,  in  deliberately  trying  to  mislead  purchasers  as  to 
its  place  of  imprint,  there  are  quite  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  early  books  which  reprint  the  colophons  of  pre- 
vious editions,  and  thus  tempt  the  unwary  to  mistake 
them  for  the  originals  which  they  copied.  Since  the 
decision  in  the  case  of  Parry  v.  Moring  and  another,  Eng- 
lish publishers  and  those  they  employ  are  likely  to  be 
much  more  careful;  but  in  the  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding it  the  carelessness  with  which  one  "editor"  used 


THEFTS   AND   ADAPTATIONS  161 

the  text  of  his  predecessor  to  print  from  was  often  ex- 
traordinary, one  reprint  even  including  a  number  of 
duly  initialled  and  copyright  notes  from  another  which 
had  appeared  only  a  year  or  two  earlier.  If  this  could 
be  done  in  our  own  day,  despite  the  existence  of  review- 
ers and  the  law  courts,  we  may  easily  imagine  that  the 
smaller  printers  and  publishers  of  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries,  who  could  not  afford  to  keep  their  own 
scholarly"  corrector,"  simply  handed  over  existing  texts 
to  their  workmen  and  printed  them  as  they  stood.  In 
most  cases,  of  course,  they  had  the  sense  to  stop  when 
they  came  to  the  colophon ;  but  they  did  not  always  do 
so,  and,  more  especially,  when  the  colophon  was  in  verse 
an  unlearned  compositor  might  easily  imagine  that  it 
formed  an  essential  part  of  the  book.  Thus  twelve 
Latin  couplets  from  the  Milan  edition  of  the  "  Con- 
fessionale,"of  Bartholomaeus  de  Chaimis,  though  they 
end  with  the  clear  statement  that  Christopher  Valdarfer 
of  Ratisbon  came  to  the  help  of  the  Milanese  and  printed 
this  book  (October,  1474),  were  reprinted  as  they  stood 
in  several  anonymous  Strasburg  editions,  while  Creusner 
at  Nuremberg  and  Schoeffer  at  Mainz  compromised  by 
leaving  out  the  last  six  lines,  which  contain  Valdarfer's 
name. 

Occasionally  this  careless  reprinting  leads  to  a  book 
possessing  a  double  colophon,  as  in  the  1478  Naples  edi- 
tion of  the  "De  Officiis"  and  other  works  of  Cicero, 
which  uses  for  his  "  Letters  to  Atticus"  Jenson's  text  of 
1470.  The  colophon  begins  exactly  (save  for  differences 
in  contractions,  punctuation,  etc.)  as  in  the  Jenson  edi- 
tion already  quoted  (Chapter  III) : 


M.  T.  C.  epistolae  ad  Atticum  Brutum  et  Q.  Fratrem  cum 
ipsius  Attici  uita  foeliciter  expliciunt.  M.cccc.lxx 


162  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

Attice,  nunc  totus  Veneta  diffunderis  urbe, 
Cum  quondam  fuerit  copia  rari  tui. 

Gallicus  hoc  Ienson  Nicolaus  muneris  orbi 
Attulit  ingenio  Daedalicaque  manu. 

Christophorus  Mauro  plenus  bonitate  fideque 
Dux  erat.     Auctorem,  lector,  opusque  tenes. 


and  then  proceeds : 

Principis  Latine  eloquentie  M.  T.  C.  liber  quinque  operum 
intitulatus  finit  foeliciter.  Impressus  Neapoli  sub  pacifico 
Ferdinando  Sicilie  rege  anno  salutis  M.cccc.lxxviii.  sedente 
Xisto  quarto  Pontifice  maximo. 

The  book  of  the  five  works  of  the  prince  of  Latin  eloquence, 
Marcus  Tullius  Cicero,  comes  happily  to  an  end.  Printed  at 
Naples  under  Ferdinand  the  Peaceful,  King  of  Sicily,  in  the 
year  of  salvation  1478,  Sixtus  IV  being  Pope. 

Such  an  instance  as  this  shows  clearly  enough  that  colo- 
phons could  be  copied  verbatim  without  any  intention 
to  make  the  purchaser  believe  that  he  was  purchasing  the 
original  edition,  though  it  must  be  owned  that  many 
printers  took  no  pains  to  inform  him  that  he  was  not 
purchasing  it.  It  is  thus  a  matter  of  opinion  as  to  whether 
they  deserve  the  severest  condemnation,  or  whether  this 
should  not  rather  be  reserved  for  the  pirates — for  such 
they  really  were — who  seized  another  printer's  book,  col- 
ophon and  all,  merely  substituting  their  own  name  for 
his,  and  thus  claiming  in  some  cases  all  the  credit  for 
the  preparation  of  an  original  edition. 

A  striking  instance  of  piracy  of  this  kind,  with  a  cu- 
rious after-story  to  it,  is  that  of  Conrad  of  Westphalia's 
appropriation  of  Veldener's  edition  of  Maneken's  "Epis- 
tolarum  Formulae,"  and  of  the  colophon  attached  to  it. 


THEFTS   AND   ADAPTATIONS  163 

Though  a  wordy  and  dull  composition,  this  colophon  is 
certainly  distinctive  enough : 

Si  te  forsan,  amice  dilecte,  nouisse  iuuabit  quis  huius  voluminis 
Impressorie  artis  productor  fuerit  atque  magister,  Accipito  huic 
artifici  nomen  esse  magistro  Iohanni  Veldener,  cui  quam  certa 
manu  insculpendi,  celandi,  intorculandi,  caracterandi  [sic]  assit 
industria :  adde  et  figurandi  et  effigiandi  et  si  quid  in  arte  secreti 
est  quod  tectius  oculitur:  quamque  etiam  fidorum  comitum 
perspicax  diligentia,  ut  omnium  litterarum  imagines  splendeant 
ad  gratiam  ac  etiam  cohesione  congruagratiaque  congeriemendis 
castigatis  compendeant,  tanta  quidem  concinnitate  quod  partes 
inter  se  et  suo  congruant  universo,  ut  quoque  delectu  materie 
splendoreque  forme  lucida  queque  promineant,  quo  pictionis 
et  connexionis  pulchre  politure  clarique  nitoris  ecrescat  multa 
uenustas,  sunt  oculi  iudices.  Idnam  satis  fades  huius  libelli 
demonstrat,  quern  multiplicatum  magni  numeri  globo  sub  pla- 
cidis  atramenti  lituris  spreto  calamo  inchoauit,  anni  septua- 
gesimi  sexti  aprilis  primus  perfecitque  dies  ultimus!  Quern 
artis  memorate  magistrum  si  tibi  hoc  predicto  aprili  mense 
cure  fuisset  querere,  facile  poteras  eundem  Louanii  impressioni 
uacantem  in  monte  Calci  inuenire.  Hoc  ideo  dixisse  uelim 
ne  eius  rei  inscius  permanseris,  si  forsitan  ambegeris.  Ubi  ars 
illi  sua  census  erit  Ouidius  inquit.  Ubi  et  etiam  uiuit  sua  sic 
sorte  et  arte  contentus,  tarn  felicibus  astris,  tantaque  fortune 
dementia,  ut  non  inducar  credere  quod  eidem  adhuc  adesse 
possit  abeundi,  ne  cogitandi  quidem,  animi  impulsio  :  id  etiam 
adiecerim  quo  tarn  quid  poteris  quam  quid  potuisses  agnoscas. 
Vale. 

Dear  friend,  if  perchance  you  would  fain  know  who  was  the 
producer  and  master  of  this  volume  of  the  printing  art,  learn 
that  the  craftsman's  name  is  Master  Jan  Veldener.  Your  eyes 
will  tell  you  what  industry  he  possesses,  how  sure  his  hand  in 
cutting,  engraving,  pressing  and  stamping,  add  also  in  designing 
and  fashioning  and  whatever  secret  in  the  art  is  more  closely 
hid;  how  keen-eyed,  again,  is  the  diligence  of  his  trusty  com- 


1 64  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

rades,  so  that  the  shapes  of  all  the  letters  are  pleasantly  clear 
and  harmonious,  hanging  together,  with  all  faults  corrected,  in  a 
delightful  mass,  and  with  such  skilful  arrangement  that  the  parts 
are  in  agreement  both  with  each  other  and  with  their  whole,  so 
that  both  by  choice  of  material  and  splendor  of  form  everything 
is  strikingly  distinct,  while  by  his  method  of  inking  and  join- 
ing the  letters  there  is  a  great  increase  in  the  charm  of  beauti- 
ful polish  and  shining  clearness.  All  this  the  appearance  of  the 
book  sufficiently  shows,  and  the  multiplying  of  this  in  a  mass 
of  great  number  by  the  gentle  spreading  of  ink,  leaving  the  pen 
despised,  the  first  day  of  April,  1476,  began,  and  the  last  com- 
pleted. Should  you  have  been  anxious  to  find  this  master  of 
the  commemorated  art  in  this  aforesaid  month  of  April,  you 
could  easily  have  found  him  at  Louvain,  with  leisure  for  print- 
ing, on  Flint-hill.  This  I  am  anxious  to  say  lest,  if  haply  you 
are  in  doubt,  you  should  remain  ignorant  of  the  fact.  "Where 
he  works  there  will  be  his  wealth,"  says  Ovid.  There  also  he 
lives  so  content  with  his  lot  and  craft,  under  such  happy 
auspices,  and  with  so  much  favor  of  fortune,  that  I  cannot  be 
induced  to  believe  that  any  impulse  to  depart,  or  even  to  think 
about  it,  can  have  come  to  him.  I  would  also  add  that  by 
which  you  may  recognize  what  you  will  be  able  to  do  as  well 
as  what  you  could  have  done.     Farewell. 

As  Veldener's  device  is  here  added,  the  meaning  of  the 
last  cryptic  sentence  appears  to  be  either  that  authors  with 
books  to  print  who  had  not  found  his  shop  in  April 
might  find  it  by  its  sign  in  May,  or  that  readers  would 
be  able  to  recognize  the  printer's  handiwork  in  the  future 
books  they  would  have  a  chance  of  purchasing,  as  well 
as  in  those  already  sold  out.  What  Conrad  of  Westphalia 
made  of  it  is  doubtful,  since,  without  affixing  his  own 
mark,  he  cribbed  this  sentence  with  all  the  rest  of  the 
colophon,onlysubstitutinghisownnameandaddress("in 
platea  Sancti  Quintini" — "in  St.  Quentin's  Street")  for 
Veldener's,  altering  the  date  of  the  inception  of  the  book 
from  April  to  December,  and  saying  nothing  as  to  when  it 


THEFTS   AND   ADAPTATIONS  165 

was  completed.  A  more  disgraceful  trick  for  one  printer 
to  play  another  living  in  the  same  town  can  hardly  be 
imagined,  and  Holtrop  may  be  right  in  considering  it  a 
deliberate  attempt  to  annoy  Veldener  and  the  cause  of 
his  leaving  Louvain  the  next  year.  Strange  to  say,  how- 
ever, the  history  of  the  colophon  does  not  stop  here.  M. 
Claudin  has  shown,  in  the  first  volume  of  his  "Histoire 
de  1'imprimerie  en  France,"  that  a  copy  of  Maneken's 
"Formulae"  exists  printed  in  the  types  of  Guillaume 
Balsarin  of  Lyons,  but  with  the  name  of  the  Paris  printer 
Caesaris  substituted  for  that  of  Veldener  in  the  colophon. 
It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  in  an  edition  now  lost  to  us 
Caesaris  must  have  played  Veldener  the  same  trick  as 
Conrad  of  Westphalia  had  already  played  him,  and  that 
this  Paris  edition  must  have  been  reprinted  by  Balsarin  at 
Lyons  without  troubling  to  alter  the  colophon.  Truly 
there  are  pitfalls  for  the  unwary  in  dealing  with  early 
books! 

Perhaps  one  reason  why  colophons  were  sometimes 
reprinted  as  they  stood  was  that  a  printer  without  a 
scholarly"  corrector"  to  aid  him  had  a  wholesome  dread 
of  plunging  into  the  middle  of  a  Latin  sentence.  Those 
who  rushed  in  hastily  sometimes  left  very  obvious  foot- 
prints in  the  wrong  places.  Thus  Ulrich  Han,  in  printing 
from  one  of  SchoefFer's  editions  of  the  "  Liber  sextus  de- 
cretalium,"  changed  his  well-known  "Alma  in  urbe  Ma- 
guntina  inclyte  nacionis  germanice  quam  dei  clemencia 
tarn  alti  ingenii  luminedonoquegratuito  ceteris  terrarum 
nacionibus  preferre  illustrareque  dignatusest"  (see  Chap- 
ter II),  into  "Alma  in  urbe  Roma  Totius  mundi  regina 
etdignissimalmperatrix  [j-/V]que  sicut  pre  ceteris  urbibus 
dignitate  preest  ita  ingeniosis  uiris  est  referta." 

To  call  Rome  "the  Queen  and  most  worthy  Empress 
of  all  the  world,  which,  as  it  takes  precedence  of  all  other 
cities  in  dignity,  so  is  it  filled  with  men  of  wit,"  was  quite 


166  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

a  pleasing  variation  on  Schoeffer's  tune.  Unluckily  Han 
did  not  note  that  his  Queen  and  Empress  ought  to  be  in 
the  ablative,  and  thus  printed  "  Imperatrix "  instead  of 
"  Imperatrice."  So  again,  when  we  look  at  the  colophon 
to  the  third  and  fourth  parts  of  the  "Speculum"  of  Du- 
randus  printed  at  Venice  in  148  8,  we  find  reason  for  sus- 
picion : 

Explicit  tertia  et  quarta  pars  Speculi  Guilhelmi  Duranti  cum 
additionibus  Ioannis  Andree  et  Baldi  suis  in  locis  ubique  posi- 
tis.  Impressa  Venetiis  per  Magistrum  Paganinum  de  Paganinis 
Brixiensis,  ac  Georgium  de  Arriuabene  de  Caneto  qui  salua 
omnium  pace  est  inter  ceteros  amandus  ac  uenerandus  propter 
ipsius  in  hac  arte  curam  in  corrigendis  operibus  ac  in  impri- 
mendo  charactere.  Anno  domini  M.cccc.lxxxviii.  vi  die  Sep- 
tembris. 


Here  ends  the  third  and  fourth  part  of  the  Speculum  of  Guli- 
elmus  Durandus,  with  the  additions  of  Joannes  Andreae  and 
Baldus  inserted  everywhere  in  their  proper  places.  Printed  at 
Venice  by  Master  Paganinus  de  Paganinis  of  Brescia,  and 
Georgius  de  Arrivabene  de  Caneto,  who,  with  due  respect  to 
every  one,  is,  among  all  others,  to  be  loved  and  revered  for  his 
care  in  this  art  both  in  correcting  works  and  in  printing  them 
in  type.     In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1488,  on  September  6th. 

The  slip  of  "Brixiensis  "for  "Brixiensem"  is  not  repro- 
ducible in  English,  but  the  reader  who  notes  how  the  two 
partners  are  treated  as  singular  instead  of  plural  will  eas- 
ily see  that  this  colophon  could  not  have  been  written 
for  them.  It  appears,  indeed,  to  have  been  borrowed 
from  Bernardinus  de  Tridino. 

Sometimes  the  inaccuracies  introduced  are  not  of  a 
merely  verbal  kind.  Thus  at  the  end  of  an  edition  of 
the " Fasciculus  Temporum"  printed  byHeinrichWirz- 


THEFTS   AND   ADAPTATIONS  167 

burg  at  the  Cluniac  monastery  at  Rougemont  in  1481 
we  have  the  following  colophon : 

Chronica  que  dlcitur  fasciculus  temporum  edita  in  alma  Uni- 
versitate  Colonie  Agrippinae  super  Renum,  a  quodam  deuoto 
Cartusiensi  unit  feliciter.  Sepius  quidem  iam  impressa  sed 
negligentia  Correctorum  in  diuersis  locis  a  uero  originali  minus 
iuste  emendata.  Nunc  uero  non  sine  magno  labore  ad  pristi- 
num  statum  reducta  cum  quibusdam  additionibus  per  humilem 
uirum  fratrem  Heinricum  Wirczburg  de  Vach,  monachum  in 
prioratu  Rubei  Montis,  ordinis  cluniacensis,  sub  Lodouico 
Gruerie  comite  magnifico  anno  domini  M.cccc.lxxxi.  Et  anno 
precedenti  fuerunt  aquarum  inundationes  maxime,  ventusque 
[sic]  horribiles  multa  edificia  subuertentes. 

The  Chronicle  which  is  called  Fasciculus  Temporum,  set  forth 
in  the  bountiful  University  of  Cologne  on  the  Rhine  by  a  cer- 
tain devout  Carthusian,  ends  happily.  Often  enough  has  it 
been  printed  already,  but  by  the  carelessness  of  correctors  in 
various  places  it  has  not  been  amended  as  justly  as  it  ought 
from  the  true  original.  Now,  however,  not  without  great  labor, 
it  has  been  restored  to  its  pristine  state,  with  certain  additions, 
by  a  humble  brother,  Heinrich  Wirzburg  of  Vach,  a  monk  in 
the  priory  of  Rougemont,  of  the  Cluniac  order,  under  Count 
Lodovico  Gruerie  the  Magnificent,  in  the  year  of  the  Lord 

148 1 .  And  in  the  preceding  year  there  were  the  greatest  floods 
and  horrible  winds,  overthrowing  many  buildings. 

Save  that  he  substituted  the  address,  "by  the  humble 
Bernhard  Richel,  citizen  of  Basel,  in  the  year  of  the  Lord 

1482,  on  February  20,"  this  colophon  was  taken  over  in 
its  entirety  the  following  year  by  Richel.  To  us,  until 
we  compare  it  with  the  Rougemont  version,  there  may 
seem  no  reason  for  suspicion.  But  if  any  one  in  those  days 
remembered  that  the  year  of  the  great  floods  was  1480, 
and  not  1 48 1 ,  his  doubts  may  easily  have  been  awakened. 


168  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

A  Genevese  printer  was  much  more  wise,  for,  while  he 
doubtless  kept  the  Rougemont  colophon  in  his  mind, 
he  adapted  its  local  coloring  very  skilfully,  informing  us 
that  the  book  was : 

Imprime  a  Genesue  Ian  mille  cccc.xcv  auquel  an  fist  si  tres 
grand  vent  le  ix  iour  de  ianuier  qu'il  fit  remonter  le  Rosne 
dedans  le  lac  bien  ung  quart  de  lieue  au-dedans  de  Geneue. 

Printed  at  Geneva  the  year  1495,  m  which  year  there  was  so 
great  wind  on  January  9th  that  it  made  the  Rhone  mount  back 
into  the  lake  a  full  quarter  of  a  league  above-  Geneva. 

Even  when  a  colophon  was  in  verse  it  was  not  safe  from 
emendation,  for  when  Giovanni  da  Reno  of  Vicenza  in 
1478  reprinted  the  Valdarfer  Boccaccio  we  find  him  sub- 
stituting for  the  line  and  a  half,  "Christofal  Valdarfer 
Indi  minprese  Che  naque  in  Ratispona,"  the  variant, 
"  Giovanne  da  Reno  quindi  minprese  Cum  mirabile 
stampa." 

For  other  instances  of  more  than  one  printer  follow- 
ing the  same  leader  we  may  note  how  Koberger  in  1496, 
and  Pierre  Levet  in  1497,  Dotn  adopt  the  colophon1  of 
the  1485  Cologne  edition  of  the  "  Destructorium  Vitio- 
rum,"  with  its  curious  phrase  "ad  laudem  summe  Mo- 
nadis";  how  Han  in  his  editions  of  the  Clementine 
Constitutions  in  1473  and  1476,  and  Wenssler  in  those 
of  1476  and  1 478,  copy  the  colophon  of  Schoeffer's  edi- 
tions, substituting  the  praises  of  Rome  and  Basel  for  those 
of  Mainz;  and  how  in  editions  of  the  Gregorian  Decre- 

ilnsignis  notabilisquecompilatiohaud  M.cccc.xxix.  collecta  de  nouo  Colonie 

modicum  cuique  statui  conferens  omne  exactissime  correcta.  ac  summo  studio 

genus  vitiorum  suis  cum  speciebus  claris-  impressa.  ad  laudem  summe  Monadis. 

sime  euidenterque  eradicans.  ob  id  non  xvii  Kalendas  Septembris.  Annodomini 

immerito  destructorium  vitiorum  nun-  Millesimo   quadringentesimo   octuage- 

cupata.  a  cuiusdam  fabri  lignarii  filio.  simo-quinto  finita. 
maximam  ad  ecclesie  vtilitatem  Anno 


THEFTS   AND   ADAPTATIONS 


169 


tals  Paganinus  de  Paganinis  in  1 489,  and  Johann  Hamann 
de  Landoia  in  1491,  adopted  the  favorite  tag  of  Jenson 
and  John  of  Cologne : 

Qui  non  tantum  summam  curam  adhibuere  ut  sint  hec  et  sua 
queque  sine  uicio  et  menda,  uerum  etiam  ut  bene  sint  elaborata 
atque  iucundissimo  litterarum  caractere  confecta:  ut  unicuique 
et  prodesse  et  oblectare  possint. 


Who  not  only  have  taken  the  greatest  pains  that  these  and  all 
their  works  may  be  free  from  fault  and  blot,  but  also  that  they 
may  be  well  finished  off  and  composed  with  the  most  pleasing 
type,  so  that  they  may  at  once  profit  and  delight  every  one. 

Not  to  be  able  to  boast  with  originality  is  sad  indeed,  but 
to  the  students  of  early  types  and  of  the  manners  of  the 
men  who  used  them  these  traces  of  borrowing  may  at 
any  point  of  an  investigation  prove  useful.  A  printer 
who  borrowed  the  wording  of  a  colophon  probably  bor- 
rowed something  else  as  well.  In  most  cases  this  was  the 
text,  with  which  students  of  early  printing  seldom  con- 
cern themselves  as  much  as  they  should,  but  sometimes 
also  typographical  peculiarities  which  may  be  worth  some 
attention. 


VIII 


DATES  IN  COLOPHONS 


ATES  form  such  an  important  fea- 
ture in  colophons  that  this  essay 
cannot  be  brought  to  a  close  with- 
out some  attempt  to  explain  the 
difficulties  which  arise  in  connec- 
tion with  them.  As  regards  the 
method  of  expressing  the  year 
there  is  very  little  to  say.  Theo- 
doric  Rood  (see  page  6 1 )  preferred  to  speak  of  1 48  5  as  the 
297th  Olympiad  from  the  birth  of  Christ,  being  under 
the  impression  that  Olympiads  consisted  of  five  years 
instead  of  four.  Other  printers  showed  great  ingenuity 
in  finding  elaborate  synonyms  for  what  we  are  now 
content  to  express  in  the  two  words  "Anno  Domini," 
and  among  other  phrases  employed  "Olympiades  Do- 
minicae"  (see  page  79),  but  without  any  attempt  to  in- 
troduce the  intervals  between  the  Olympic  Games  into 
the  Christian  reckoning. 

As  an  additional  method  of  dating  we  occasionally 

170 


DATES    IN    COLOPHONS  171 

find  a  reference  to  the  year  of  the  indiction,  a  method 
of  dating  by  cycles  of  fifteen  years,  instituted  by  the 
Emperor  Constantine  in  312.  To  find  the  indictional 
year,  312  must  be  subtracted  from  the  year  of  the  Lord 
(the  same  results  will  be  obtained  by  adding  3),  and  then 
after  dividing  by  15,  the  remainder  will  give  the  num- 
ber of  the  year  in  the  indiction.  Thus  I488~312  or  ^t-3  in 
each  case  leaves  a  remainder  of  six,  and  a.d.  1488  was 
thus  the  sixth  indiction. 

According  to  different  methods  of  reckoning,  indic- 
tions  began  in  September  or  October,  at  Christmas  or  on 
January  1st.  In  colophons,  I  believe,  they  are  always 
used  in  conjunction  with  years  of  the  Lord  reckoned 
from  January  1st,  and  they  have  only  the  effect  of  a 
chronological  flourish. 

A  much  more  important  supplementary  method  of 
dating  is  that  by  the  names  of  ruling  popes,  emperors, 
sovereigns,  or  princes,  or  still  better  by  their  regnal 
years.  I  have  long  cherished  an  ambition  to  compile  a 
kind  of  "Bibliographer's  Vade-mecum,"  one  section  of 
which  would  be  devoted  to  exhaustive  lists  of  the  smaller 
as  well  as  the  greater  sovereigns  of  Europe  during  the 
period  when  their  names  in  old  books  are  of  chronologi- 
cal value.  Here,  however,  it  must  suffice  to  offer  lists 
of  popes,  kings  of  England  and  France,  and  doges  of 
Venice,  for  the  periods  which  concern  us,  and  to  use 
these  as  illustrations  of  the  way  in  which  such  informa- 
tion can  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  dating  of  early  books. 

POPES 


Pius  II. 

19  Aug. 

1458  - 

15  Aug. 

1464. 

Paul  II. 

31  Aug. 

1464  - 

28  July 

1471. 

Sixtus  IV. 

9  Aug- 

1471  - 

13  Aug. 

1484. 

Innocent  VIII. 

29  Aug. 

1484  - 

25  July 

1492. 

172 


AN 


Alexander  VI. 
Pius  III. 
Julius  II. 
Leo  X. 
Adrian  VI. 
Clement  VII. 


ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

POPES  {Continued) 
1 1  Aug.     1492 


1S°3 


11  Sept. 

1  Nov 
11  March  15 13 

1  Jan.   1522 
19  Nov.  1523 


18  Aug. 
18  Oct. 
21  Feb. 
1  Dec. 
24  Sept. 
26  Sept. 


*S°3 

lS°3 

*Sl3 
1521 

*S23 
!534 


KINGS   OF   ENGLAND 


Edward  IV. 

4  March 

1 46 1     - 

9  April 

1483- 

Edward  V. 

9  April 

1483     - 

-     22  June 

1483. 

Richard  III. 

16  June 

1483     - 

-     22  Aug. 

1485. 

Henry  VII. 

22  Aug. 

1485     - 

-     21  April 

1509. 

Henry  VIII. 

22  April 

1509     - 

-     28  Jan. 

1547- 

Edward  VI. 

28  Jan. 

1547     - 

-       6  July 

1SS3- 

Mary, 

6  July 

*553     - 

-     24  July 

I554- 

Philip  and  Mary, 1 

25  July 

r554    ■ 

-     17  Nov. 

1558. 

Elizabeth, 

17  Nov. 

1558     - 

-    24  March 

1603. 

KINGS   OF   FRANCE 


Louis  XI. 

22  July 

1461     - 

3°  Aug- 

I483- 

Charles  VIII. 

3°  Aug- 

1483     - 

7  April 

1498. 

Louis  XII. 

7  April 

1498     - 

1  Jan. 

1515. 

Francois  I. 

1  Jan. 

1515     - 

31  March 

1547- 

Henri  II. 

31  March 

1547     " 

10  July 

I559- 

Francois  II. 

10  July 

l559    ~ 

5  Dec. 

1560. 

Charles  IX. 

5  Dec. 

1560    - 

30  May 

1574. 

Henri  III. 

30  May 

1574    - 

2  Aug. 

1589. 

Henri  IV. 

2  Aug. 

1589    - 

14  May 

1610. 

1  The  regnal  years  of  Mary  before 
her  marriage  are  usually  added  to  those 
of  Philip  and  Mary  as  joint  sovereigns. 
Thus  dates  from25  July,  1554—5  July> 
1555,  inclusive,  are  quoted  as  1  st  and  2d 
Philip  and  Mary,  i.e.,  the  first  year  of 


their  joint  ruleand  the  second  of  Mary's 
reign.  Dates  from  6  July  (the  anni- 
versary of  her  accession)  to  24  July, 
1555,  are  1st  and  3d  Philip  and  Mary, 
i.e.,  the  first  year  of  their  joint  rule  and 
the  third  of  Mary's  reign. 


DATES    IN    COLOPHONS 


l73 


DOGES   OF   VENICE 


Cristoforo  Moro, 
Nicolo  Tron, 
Nicolo  Marcello, 
Pietro  Mocenigo, 
Andrea  Vendramino, 
Giovanni  Mocenigo, 
Marco  Barbarigo, 
Agostino  Barbarigo, 
Leonardo  Loredano, 
Antonio  Grimani, 
Andrea  Gritti, 


12  May 

1462  - 

9  Nov. 

1471. 

23  Nov. 

1471  - 

28  July 

H73- 

13  Aug. 

H73  - 

1  Dec. 

1474. 

14  Dec. 

1474  - 

23  Feb. 

1476. 

6  March 

1476  - 

6  May 

1478. 

18  May 

1478  - 

4  Nov. 

1485. 

19  Nov. 

1485  - 

14  Aug. 

i486. 

3°  Aug- 

i486  - 

24  Sept. 

1501. 

2  Oct. 

1501  - 

26  June 

1521. 

6  July 

1521  - 

7  May 

*S23- 

20  May 

lS23    ~ 

28  Dec. 

1538. 

As  our  first  example  of  how  these  tables  may  be  used 
we  will  take  a  colophon  where  no  year  of  the  Lord  is 
given,  and  sovereigns  are  mentioned  without  their  reg- 
nal years.  We  shall  find  that  even  the  mere  names  may 
help  us  to  a  close  approximate  date.  Our  instance  shall 
beWendelin  of  Speier's  edition  of  the  "Supplementum" 
of  Nicolaus  de  Auximo,  the  colophon  to  which  ends : 

Vendelinus  opus  pressit  Spireus  utrunque: 
Labe  repurgatum  (crede)  uolumen  emis. 
Impressum  est  Sixto  sacrorum  antistite  quarto, 
Et  Veneto  Troni  principis  imperio. 


Sixtus  IV  became  pope  early  in  August,  1471,  Nicolo 
Tron  was  elected  doge  on  November  23d  of  the  same 
year,  and  died  in  July,  1473.  We  can  tnus  ^ate  tne  DO°k 
as  "about  1472"  with  absolute  confidence. 

Writers  of  poetical  colophons  are  naturally  more  in- 
clined to  use  regnal  dates  than  the  year  of  the  Lord, 
which  it  is  seldom  easy  to  get  into  a  verse.  In  the 
"Moral  Prouerbes  of  Cristyne"  Caxton  gives  us  the 


174  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

month,  the  day,  and  the  regnal  year,  together  making  a 
precise  date.    This  colophon  runs: 

Of  these  sayynges  Cristyne  was  the  aucturesse, 
Whiche  in  makyn[g]  hadde  suche  intelligence, 
That  thereof  she  was  mireur  and  maistresse; 
Hire  werkes  testifie  thexperience; 
In  Frenssh  languaige  was  writen  this  sentence, 
And  thus  englished  doth  hit  reherse 
Antoin  Wideuylle,  therle  Ryuers. 

Go  thou  litil  quayer  and  recommaund  me 
Unto  the  good  grace  of  my  special  lorde 
Therle  Ryueris,  for  I  haue  emprinted  the 
At  his  commandement,  following  eury  worde 
His  copye,  as  his  secretarie  can  recorde, 
At  Westmestre,  of  Feuerer  the  xx  daye 
And  of  Kyng  Edward  the  xvij  yere  veraye. 

Emprinted  by  Caxton 
In  Feuerer  the  colde  season. 

The  seventeenth  year  of  Edward  IV  ran  from  4th  March, 
1 477, to  3d  March,  1478,  so  that  the  "Moral  Proverbs" 
were  finished  on  February  20th  of  the  latter  year. 

When  a  change  of  sovereigns  occurred  in  the  year  in 
which  a  book  was  printed,  the  mere  name  of  the  earlier 
or  the  later  of  the  two  shows  in  which  part  of  the  year 
the  colophon  was  written,  and  regnal  dates  supply  the 
same  information  for  years  in  which  no  change  of  sov- 
ereigns took  place.  Thus  the  colophon  to  Wynkyn  de 
Worde's  edition  of  the  "Vitas  Patrum  "  ends :  "  Enprynted 
in  the  sayd  towne  of  Westmynstre  by  me  Wynken  de 
Worde,  the  yere  of  our  lorde  M.cccc.lxxxxv.  and  the 
tenthe  yere  of  our  souerayne  lorde  Kyng  Henry  the 
seuenth."  As  Henry  VIFs  reign  began  2  2d  August,  1485, 


DATES    IN    COLOPHONS  175 

its  tenth  year  would  cover  the  twelvemonth,  August, 
1494,  to  August,  1495,  and  we  are  thus  told  not  only 
that  the  book  was  issued  in  1495,  but  tnat  **  was  prmted 
before  August  2 1  st  of  that  year. 

A  subsidiary  date,  of  course,  as  a  rule  loses  its  useful- 
ness when  the  printer  explicitly  mentions  also  the  month 
and  day  on  which  the  book  was  completed.  It  may, 
however,  have  a  special  value  as  furnishing  a  means  of 
fixing  the  day  from  which  the  printer  reckoned  his  year. 
In  the  fifteenth  century  the  year  could  be  reckoned  as 
beginning  on  Christmas  day,  on  January  1st,  on  March 
1  st,  on  March  25th,  or  at  Easter.  In  arranging  the 
books  issued  from  any  press  in  chronological  order,  it  is 
of  vital  importance  to  know  which  reckoning  the  printer 
followed,  and  we  may  now  give  some  examples  to  show 
how  regnal  years  can  be  used  to  settle  this. 

Finiunt  Petri  de  Abano  remedia  uenenorum.  Rome  in  domo 
nobilis  uiri  Iohannis  Philippi  de  Lignamine  Messanensis,  S.  D. 
N.  familiaris,  hie  tractatus  impressus  est.  Anno  domini  Mcccc- 
lxxv.  die  xxvii  Mensis  Ianuarii,  Pontificatu  Syxti  I  III,  Anno 
eius  quarto. 

End  the  remedies  of  Petrus  de  Abano  against  poisons.  At 
Rome  in  the  house  of  the  noble  gentleman  Ioannes  Philippus 
de  Lignamine  of  Messina,  servant  of  our  holy  Lord,  this  tract 
was  printed.  In  the  year  of  the  Lord  1475,  on  tne  27th  day 
of  the  month  January,  in  the  pontificate  of  Sixtus  IV,  in  his 
fourth  year. 

The  fourth  year  of  Sixtus  IV  began  on  9th  August,  1474, 
and  ended  8th  August,  1475;  therefore  January,  1475, 
in  his  fourth  year  must  be  January,  1475,  according  to 
our  modern  reckoning,  not  January,  1476,  as  it  would 
be  had  the  year  been  calculated  from  March  25  th  or  Eas- 
ter day  —  two  similar  examples  will  be  found  in  Hain's 


176  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

"  Repertorium  Bibliographicum"  under  the  numbers 
255*  and  2050*. 

On  the  other  hand,  Caxton's  colophon  to  the  "Mir- 
rour  of  the  World  "  ends  : 

whiche  book  I  began  first  to  translate  the  second  day  of  Ian- 
yuer  the  yer  of  our  lord  M.cccc.lxxx.  And  fynysshed  the  viij 
day  of  Marche  the  same  yere,  and  the  xxj  yere  of  the  Regne  of 
the  most  Crysten  kyng,  Kynge  Edward  the  fourth.  Vnder  the 
shadowe  of  whos  noble  proteccion  I  have  emprysed  and  fyn- 
ysshed this  sayd  lytyl  werke  and  boke.  Besechynge  Almyghty 
god  to  be  his  protectour  and  defender  agayn  alle  his  enemyes 
and  gyue  hym  grace  to  subdue  them,  And  inespeciall  them  that 
haue  late  enterpraysed  agayn  ryght  &resonto  makewarrewythin 
his  Royamme.  And  also  to  preserue  and  mayntene  hym  in 
longe  lyf  and  prosperous  helthe.  And  after  this  short  and  tran- 
sytorye  lyf  he  brynge  hym  and  vs  in  to  his  celestyal  blysse  in 
heuene.     Amen.     Caxton  me  fieri  fecit. 

As  the  twenty-first  year  of  Edward  IV  ran  from  4th 
March,  148 1,  to  3d  March,  1482,  Caxton's  8th  March, 
1480,  must  clearly  be  1480,  old  style,  or  1481  of  our 
reckoning,  and  Caxton  is  thus  shown  to  have  begun  his 
year  on  March  25th. 

So  again  the  long  colophon  or  epilogue  to  the  "  Cor- 
dyale"  tells  us  that  the  book"  was  deliuered  to  me  William 
Caxton  by  my  saide  noble  lorde  Ryuiers  on  the  day  of 
purificacion  of  our  blissid  lady,  fallyng  the  tewsday  the 
secund  day  of  the  moneth  of  feuerer.  In  the  yere  of  our 
lord  M.  cccc.  lxxviij  for  to  be  enprinted.  .  .  .  Whiche 
werke  present  I  begann  the  morn  after  the  saide  Purifi- 
cation of  our  blissid  Lady,  whiche  was  the  daye  of  Seint 
Blase  Bisshop  and  Martir,  And  finisshed  on  the  euen  of 
thannunciacion  of  our  said  blissid  Lady,  fallyng  on  the 
Wednesday  the  xxiiij.  daye  of  Marche  in  the  xix  yere  of 
Kyng  Edwarde  the  fourthe." 


DATES    IN    COLOPHONS  177 

Earlier  bibliographers  got  very  confused  over  this  book 
and  made  absurd  mistakes  as  to  the  time  which  Caxton 
took  to  print  it.  But  Mr.  Blades  had  no  difficulty  in 
showing  that  the  different  dates  follow  closely  on  each 
other.  Caxton  received  the  book  on  February  2d,  be- 
gan printing  it  on  February  3d,  and  finished  it  on 
March  24th,  all  in  the  same  year  1479.  We  have  a 
double  method  of  proving  this,  by  the  two  week-days 
mentioned  and  by  the  regnal  year,  which  covered  the 
period  March  4,  1479,  to  March  3,  1480.  The  only 
March  24th  in  this  twelvemonth  was  that  in  1479,  and 
in  1 479  March  24th,  as  Caxton  says,  fell  on  a  Wednes- 
day. In  1479,  moreover,  February  2d  fell  on  a  Tues- 
day, in  1478  on  a  Sunday.  It  is  thus  clear  that  the 
Tuesday,  February  2,  1478,  of  the  colophon  must  be 
an  old-style  date,  answering  to  1479  of  our  reckoning. 

The  occasional  mention  of  the  day  both  of  the  week 
and  the  month  in  German  colophons  offers  us,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  regnal  years,  almost  the  only  proof  we  can  ob- 
tain that  German  printers  began  their  year  either  at 
Christmas  or  on  January  1st, —  I  am  not  prepared  to  say 
which.  Thus  the  colophon  of  an  edition  of  the  "  De 
remediis  utriusque  fortunae  "  of  Adrianus  Carthusiensis 
reads : 

Explicit  liber  de  remediis  fortuitorum  casuum  nouiter  compi- 
latus  et  impressus  Colonie  per  Arnoldum  therhoernen,  finitus 
Anno  domini  M°cccc°lxxi°  die  veneris  octaua  mensis  Februarii. 
Deo  Gracias. 

Ends  the  book  of  the  remedies  of  casual  haps,  lately  compiled 
and  printed  at  Cologne  by  Arnold  therhoernen.  Finished 
in  the  year  of  the  Lord  1471,  on  Friday,  February  8th. 
Thanks  be  to  God. 

In  1 47 1  February  8th  fell  on  a  Friday,  in  1472  on  a 
Saturday.     Therefore  it  is  clear  that  in  therhoernen's 


i78 


AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 


reckoning  January  and  February  were  the  first  months 
of  the  year,  as  they  are  with  us. 

Before  inquiring  as  to  what  printers  reckoned  the  year 
as  beginning  at  Easter,  we  must  give  the  following  table : 


EASTER  DAY,  1470-1521 


1470  April  22 

1 47 1  April  14 

1472  March  29 

1473  April  18 

1474  April  10 

1475  March  26 

1476  April  14 

1477  April  6 

1478  March  22 

1479  April  11 

1480  April  2 

1 48 1  April  22 

1482  April  7 

1483  March  30 

1484  April  18 

1485  April  3 
i486  March  26 


1487  Apri 

1488  Apri 

1489  Apri 

1490  Apri 

1 49 1  Apri 

1492  Apri 

1493  Apri 

1494  March  30 

1495  April  19 


1 15 

1  6 
I.9 
1  11 

13 

1  22 
17 


That  Pierre  Gerard  and  Jean  Dup 
oned  the  year  from  Easter  to  Easter 
in  the  colophon  to  their  magnificent  edition  of  Augus- 


496  April  3 

497  March  26 

498  April  15 

499  March  31 

500  April  19 

501  April  1 1 

502  March  27 

503  April  16 

504  April  7 

505  March  23 

506  April  12 

507  April  4 

508  April  23 

509  April  8 

510  March  31 

511  April  20 

512  April  1 1 

513  March  27 

514  April  16 

515  April  8 

516  March  23 

517  April  12 

5 1 8  April  4 

519  April  24 

520  April  8 

521  March  31 

e  at  Abbeville  reck- 
we  get  a  broad  hint 


DATES    IN    COLOPHONS  179 

tine's  "  De  Ciuitate  Dei "  in  French.  This  is  in  two  vol- 
umes, the  colophon  to  the  first  of  which  is  dated"  le  xxiiii 
jour  de  Nouembre  Tan  mil  quatre  cens  quatre  vingt  et 
six,"  while  the  second  runs: 

Cy  fine  le  second  volume  contenant  les  xii  derreniers  liures  de 
monseigneur  saint  augustin  de  la  cite  de  dieu.  Imprime  en  la 
ville  dabbeuille,  par  Iehan  du  pre  et  pierre  gerard  marchans  li- 
braires  :  Et  icelluy  acheue  le  xii  iour  dauril  Ian  mil  quatre  cens 
quatre  vingtz  et  six  auant  pasques. 

Here  ends  the  second  volume  containing  the  last  twelve  books 
of  my  lord  Saint  Augustin  of  the  City  of  God.  Printed  in  the 
town  of  Abbeville  by  Jean  Dupre  and  Pierre  Gerard,  book- 
sellers :  and  it  was  finished  the  twelfth  day  of  April,  the  year 
i486,  before  Easter. 

That  the  second  volume  of  so  large  a  work  must  have 
been  printed  after  the  first  is  so  nearly  certain  that  this 
alone  might  have  caused  us  to  look  out  for  a  means  of 
making  April  1 2, 1 486,  later  than  November  24th  of  the 
same  year.  The  words  "auant  pasques"  put  the  matter 
beyond  doubt,  for  Easter  in  i486  of  our  reckoning  fell 
on  March  26th,  but  in  1487  on  April  15th.  Clearly, 
therefore,the  book  was  finished  on  Holy  Thursday,  1487, 
and  Easter  was  the  date  from  which  Dupre  and  Gerard 
reckoned  their  year. 

We  can  obtain  an  equally  neat  proof  of  the  French  year 
beginning  at  Easter  from  a  copy  of  Pierre  Gringore's 
"Chasteau  de  Labour,"  in  which,  underneath  the  name 
of  Philippe  Pigouchet,  appears  the  colophon : 

Le  chasteau  de  labour  auec  aucunes  balades  et  addicions  nou- 
uellement  composees  a  este  acheue  le  dernier  iour  de  Mars  Lan 
Mil  Cinq  cens.  Pour  Simon  Vostre  libraire  demourant  a  Paris 
en  la  rue  neuue  nostre  dame  a  lenseigne  sainct  iehan  leuangeliste. 


180  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

This  edition  consists  of  sixty  leaves  and  does  actually  con- 
tain a  long  interpolation  not  found  in  the  first  edition  of 
22dOctober,  1499,  or  the  second,  which  is  dated  31st  De- 
cember, 1499,  or  m  yet  another  edition  dated  3 1st  May, 
1 500,  all  three  of  which  have  only  fifty  leaves  instead  of 
sixty.  Thus  it  would  appear  at  first  sight  that  Pigouchet 
and  Vostre  printed  Gringore's  additions  in  March,  1 500, 
and  omitted  them  again  two  months  afterwards  in  May. 
Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  French  year  1500  ran  from 
Easter  Sunday,  1 9th  April,  1 500,  to  Easter  Sunday,  1  ith 
April,  1 50 1 ,  it  is  obvious  that  the  only  3  1  st  March  in  it 
fell  in  1 50 1  according  to  our  reckoning,  and  that  the 
edition  of  31st  March,  1500,  was  really  produced  in 
March,  1 501,  and  is  ten  months  later  than  that  of  May, 
1500.  We  thus  get  an  orderly  sequence  of  three  un- 
augmented  editions  of  fifty  leaves,  followed  by  an  aug- 
mented one  of  sixty,  and  all  difficulties  vanish. 

In  Italy  the  year  appears  generally  to  have  begun 
on  January  1st,  but  in  Florence  on  Lady  day,  March 
25th.  At  Venice  the  legal  year  is  known  to  have 
begun  on  March  1st,  and  most  writers  on  Aldus  have 
asserted  positively  that  this  was  the  date  to  which  he 
conformed.  That  other  Venetian  printers  observed  Jan- 
uary 1  st  as  the  first  day  of  the  year  can  be  proved  from 
the  mention  of  Pietro  Mocenigo  as  doge  in  the  colophon 
to  an  edition  of  the  "Istoria  Fiorentina"  of  Leonardo 
Aretino.    This  ends: 

Impresso  a  Vinegia  perlo  diligente  huomo  Maestro  Iacomo  de 
Rossi  di  natione  Gallo:  Nellanno  del  Mcccclxxyj.  a  di  xii  de 
Febraio:  Regnante  lo  inclyto  Principe  Messer  Piero  Mozenico. 

As  our  table  of  Venetian  doges  shows,  Mocenigo  died  on 
February  23,  1476,  eleven  days  after  this  colophon  was 
printed;  and  it  is  thus  clear  that  February,  1476,  meant 
the  same  to  "  Maestro  Iacomo  de  Rossi"  as  it  does  to  us. 


DATES   IN   COLOPHONS  181 

That  the  antiquarian  Aldus  troubled  his  head  about 
the  beginning  of  the  Venetian  legal  year  seems  a  strange 
inconsistency.  But  the  late  Mr.  R.  C.  Christie,  who 
proved  conclusively,  in  an  article  in  "  Bibliographica," 
that  in  his  later  books  Aldus  began  his  year  on  January 
ist,  was  yet  obliged  to  admit  that  the  Lascaris,  which 
is  dated  "M.cccc.lxxxxiiii  ultimo  Februarii,"  was  prob- 
ably finished  only  a  few  days  before  the  Supplement, 
which  bears  date  March  8,  1495,  anc^  tnat  tne  Theo- 
dore Gaza  of  January,  and  the  Theocritus  of  February, 
1495,  both  really  belong  to  1496.  I  would  suggest 
that  in  adopting  March  ist  as  his  New  Year's  day  in 
these  three  volumes,  Aldus  pleased  himself  with  the  idea 
that  he  was  reckoning  not  "more  Veneto"  but  "more 
antiquo  Romano,"  since  (as  the  names  of  our  last  four 
months  still  testify)  the  Roman  year  originally  began  in 
March,  and  it  was  only  the  fact  that  after  B.C.  153  the 
consuls  entered  office  in  January  that  caused  our  pres- 
ent reckoning  to  come  into  use,  the  sacerdotal  year  con- 
tinuing to  begin  on  March  ist.  If  Aldus,  after  adopting 
the  Venetian  legal  year  because  it  agreed  with  the  earliest 
Roman  reckoning,  was  convinced  that  he  was  being  a 
little  more  Roman  than  the  Romans  themselves,  it  is  easy 
to  understand  his  change  of  practice. 

It  would  appear,  then,  that  the  only  books  for  which 
we  must  reckon  the  year  as  beginning  later  than  January 
ist  are  a  few  early  books  of  Aldus  (March  ist),  all  Eng- 
lish books  of  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  and 
books  printed  at  Florence  (March  25th)  and  in  France 
(Easter).  I  strongly  suspect,  moreover,  that  in  Floren- 
tine and  French  editions  of  learned  works  written  in 
Latin  there  would  be  a  tendency  toward  January  ist, 
but  I  cannot  offer  any  proof  of  this  at  present,  though 
it  is  a  question  which  I  hope  some  day  to  work 
out. 


182  AN    ESSAY   ON    COLOPHONS 

As  the  examples  quoted  in  our  text  will  have  abun- 
dantly shown,  the  days  of  the  month  are  expressed  either 
according  to  our  present  use  or  by  the  Roman  notation, 
reckoning  from  the  Calends,  Nones,  and  Ides.  The  Cal- 
ends were  always  the  first  day  of  the  month,  the  Nones 
fell  on  the  5th,  and  the  Ides  on  the  1  3th,  except  in 
March,  May,  July,  and  October,  when  they  were  each 
two  days  later.  Days  were  counted  backwards  from 
the  Nones,  Ides,  and  Calends,  both  the  day  from  which 
and  the  day  to  which  the  reckoning  was  made  being 
included  in  the  calculation.  Thus  March  2d  was  called 
the  sixth  day  before  the  Nones  (ante  diem  sextum  Nonas 
Martis),  and  March  25th  the  seventh  before  the  Cal- 
ends of  April  (ante  diem  septimum  Kalendas  Aprilis, 
or  a.  d.  vii.  Kal.  Apr.).  July  and  August  are  sometimes 
called  by  their  old  names  Quintilis  and  Sextilis. 

In  Germany,  more  especially  at  Strassburg,  and  in 
Strassburg  more  especially  by  an  unidentified  craftsman 
known  as  the  "  Printer  of  the  1483  Jordanus  de  Qued- 
linburg,"  we  often  find  books  dated  on  such  and  such  a 
day  of  the  week  before  or  after  a  festival  of  the  church 
or  a  particular  Sunday,  the  Sunday  being  indicated  by 
quoting  the  first  word  of  the  introit  used  at  high  mass. 
Thus  in  1485  the  anonymous  printer  of  the  Jordanus 
finished  a  "De  Proprietatibus  Rerum"  on  S.  Valentine's 
day  (in  die  Valentini,  February  14th),  the  "  Historia 
Scholastica  of  Petrus  Comestor  "  after  the  feast  of  S.  Mat- 
thias (post  festum  Matthie,  February  24th),  the  "Pos- 
tilla"  of  Guillermus  on  Thursday  (March  9th)  before  the 
feast  of  S.  Gregory  (quarta  feria  ante  festum  Gregorii), 
a  "  Casus  breues  decretalium  "  on  the  day  of  SS.  Vitus 
and  Modestus  (in  die  Viti  et  Modesti,  June  15th),  and 
Cardinal  Turrecremata's  "Gloss  on  the  Psalter"  on  S. 
Michael's  eve  (in  profesto  Michaelis,  September  28th). 
To  another  edition  of  the  "  Postilla  "  of  Guillermus  he 
adds  the  imprint : 


DATES    IN    COLOPHONS  183 

Impressa  Argentine  Anno  Domini  M.cccc.xciij.  Finita  altera 
die  post  Reminiscere. 

"  Reminiscere"  is  the  beginning  of  the  introit  for  the 
second  Sunday  in  Lent,  and  as  Easter  in  1493  (see  our 
table)  fell  on  April  7th,  this  was  March  3d,  and  the 
"  Postilla"  were  finished  on  Monday,  March  4th. 

The  colophon  to  a  Strassburg  edition  of  the  sermons 
known  by  the  title  "Dormi  secure  "  tells  us  that  it  was 
issued  "secunda  feria  post  Laetare  "  in  the  same  year 
1493.  "  Laetare  "  being  the  first  word  of  the  introit  for 
the  fourth  Sunday  in  Lent,  it  thus  appeared  on  Monday, 
March  18th,  exactly  a  fortnight  after  the  "Postilla"  of 
Guillermus.  So  again  we  find  Hans  Schauer  of  Augs- 
burg dating  an  edition  of  a  "  Beichtbuchlein,"  or  manual 
of  confession,  "  am  Samstag  vor  Invocavit  in  dem  XCij. 
iar," — on  Saturday  before  Invocavit,  1492, — which 
gives  the  date  (Invocavit  marking  the  first  Sunday  in  Lent 
and  Easter  in  1 49  2  falling  on  April  2  2d) ,  Saturday,  March 
1  oth.  It  is  generally  only  the  introits  of  the  first  four 
Sundays  in  Lent  (Invocavit,  Reminiscere,  Oculi, and  Lae- 
tare) and  that  of  the  first  Sunday  after  Easter  (Quasi- 
modo) that  are  used  in  colophons  in  this  way. 

We  may  bring  this  chapter  to  an  end  by  noting  one 
or  two  fruitful  causes  of  error  in  dating  books  which  arise 
from  misunderstanding  the  reference  or  meaning  of  the 
dates  in  their  colophons.  In  Chapter  VI  it  has  already 
been  noted  that  where  an  author  or  editor  has  given  the 
date  on  which  he  finished  writing,  such  a  date  has  often 
been  confused  with  the  date  of  imprint.  More  dangerous 
but  much  rarer  than  such  a  pitfall  as  this  is  the  case  of 
the  reprinted  colophon  (see  Chapter  VII),  which  can  be 
detected  only  by  experts  in  typography.  The  majority  of 
mistakes,  however,  arise  from  very  simple  misreadings. 
In  many  fifteenth-century  fonts  of  type  the  symbols  x  and 
v  are  very  imperfectly  distinguished,  so  that  the  five  has 


184  AN    ESSAY    ON    COLOPHONS 

often  been  mistaken  for  a  ten.  Modern  eyes,  again,  being 
used  to  the  symbols  iv,  ix,  xl,  are  very  apt  to  read  the 
fifteenth-century  iiii  as  iii,  the  viiii  as  viii,  and  the  xxxx 
as  xxx.  On  the  other  hand,  as  they  neared  the  end  of  the 
century  the  printers  not  only  expressed  ninety-nine  by  ic, 
but  also  used  the  forms  vc,  iiiic,  iiic,  iic,  to  express  the 
years  '95  to  '98;  and,  as  has  been  done  here  for  the  sake 
of  brevity,  occasionally  omitted  the  precedent  Mcccc, 
as  in  the  "in  dem  XCij.  iar"  of  the  colophon  of  the 
"Beichtbuchlein,"  quoted  a  page  or  two  back.  They 
also,  it  may  be  noted,  frequently  expressed  eighty  by  the 
reasonable  symbol  for  fourscore,  or  quatre  vingt — namely, 
iiiixx.  These  latter  methods  of  writing  dates,  how- 
ever, though  they  may  puzzle  for  a  moment,  can  hardly 
mislead;  but  in  the  case  of  books  issued  in  the  years  1470, 
1480,  1490,  and  1500  (more  especially  the  last)  there  is 
one  error  so  easily  made  that  it  has  left  its  mark  on  every 
old  catalogue  of  incunabula.  Thus  when  Hermann 
Lichtenstein  dated  an  edition  of  the  "Opuscula"of  S. 
Thomas  Aquinas  "anno  salutis  M.cccc.xc.  vii  Idus  sep- 
tembris"  he  encouraged  any  ignorant  or  careless  cata- 
loguer to  misread  the  date  as  1497  on  the  "  Ides  of 
September,"  instead  of  1490  on  the  seventh  day  before 
the  "Ides  of  September."  The  mistake  maybe  made  just 
as  easily  when  words  are  used  instead  of  numerals,  for 
"anno  nostre  salutis  millesimo  quadringentesimo  octo- 
gesimo  quinto  kalendas  Iunij  "  is  very  easily  read  as  1485. 
It  is,  of  course,  equally  easy  to  make  the  opposite  mis- 
take and  transfer  to  the  record  of  the  month  a  number 
which  relates  to  the  year.  As  a  rule,  the  printers,  by  inter- 
posing" die  "  or  "  vero  "  or  both,  or  by  a  change  of  type, 
put  their  meaning  beyond  dispute ;  but  sometimes  they 
got  confused  themselves,  and  by  leaving  out  either  the 
last  numeral  of  the  year,  or  that  of  the  day  of  the  month, 
produced  a  puzzle  which  can  be  solved  only  by  inde- 
pendent knowledge  of  the  years  during  which  a  printer 
worked. 


INDEXES 


INDEX 

BOOKS   FROM  WHICH  COLOPHONS  ARE  QUOTED 

Accoltus,  F.      Commentaria  de  acquirenda  possessione.      i486.      Peseta 
L.  y  F.  de  Cennis         ....... 

Adrianus  Carthusiensis.      De  remediis  utriusque  fortunae.      1471* 
Cologne,  A.  tberhoernen  ....... 

Albertus,  Magister.      Sermones.      H74-      Cologne,  A.  therboernen 
Albohazen  Haly.      Liber  Regalis.      1492.      Venice,  B.  Rictus 
Alexander  Gallus.      Doctrinale.      H93-      Acqui,  s.  n.  t. 
Antonius  de  Alexandre      Super  secundo  codicis  Iustiniani.      1474* 
Naples,  S.  Riessinger      ....... 

Athanasius  contra  Arium  &c.      1  500.      Paris,  A.  Bocard 

Atila  persecutore  de  la  Christiana  fede.      1 49 1 .      Venice,  s.  n.  t. 

Augustine.      De  Ciuitate  Dei.      1473.      Mainz,  P.  Schoeffer 

1470.      Venice,  J.  &  W.  of  Speier 

1486/87.      Abbeville,  Dupre  tsf  Gerard 

Augustine.      Explanatio  Psalmorum.      1489.      Basel,  Jo.  de 

Amerbach     ......... 


Augustine.      Manuale.      1 47 1 .      Treviso,  G.  de  Lisa 
Avicenna.      De  medicina.      1473.      Milan,  F.  da  Lavagna 
Balbus,  Jo.      Catholicon.      1460.      Mainz,,  s.  n.  t. 

1469.      Augsburg,  G.  Zainer         .... 

Bartolus  de  Saxoferrato.      Lectura  super  prima  parte  Digesti  Veteris. 

1478.      Venice,  John  of  Cologne  &  J.  Man t ben 
Bartolus  de  Saxoferrato.      Lectura  super  secunda  parte  Digesti  Veteris. 

1473.      Venice,  W.  of  Speier  ...... 

Biblia  Latina.      1462.      Mainz,  Fust  iff  Schoeffer 

1476.      Vicenza,  L.  Achates  .... 

Biel,  Gabriel.      Sermo  Dominicae  Passionis.     /.  a.      Hagenau, 

s.  n.  t 

Boccaccio,  Giovanni.      Genealogiae  Deorum.      148 1.      Reggio, 

L.  &  B.  Bruschus 

Bonetus  de  Latis.      Annulus  Astronomicus.      c.  1496.      Rome, 

A.  Freitag  ......... 

187 


99 

177 
92 

1 1 1 
65 

75 
98 
70 

23 
36 

179 

H3 
59 
60 

13 
81 

55 

39 
10 

94 
H3 

7i 
130 


188  INDEX 

Boniface  VIII.      Liber  Sextus  Decretalium.      1465.      Mainz,  Fust  y 
Scboeffer       ......... 

1473.      Mainz,  P.  Schoeffer  .... 

1472.      Rome,   U.  Han         ..... 

1477.     Basel,  M.  Wenssler  .... 

Bononia  Ulustrata.      1494.      Bologna,  P.  de  Benedicts 

Brant,  Seb.      La  Nef  des  Fols.      1497  [misprinted  in  text  1457]. 

Paris,  G.  Marnef  ....... 

Breviarium  Illerdense.      1479.      Lerida,  H.  Botel 

Bridget,  S.      Revelationes.      1 500.      Nuremberg,  A.  Koberger 

Bruno,  Hen.      Super  Institutionibus.     c.  1488.      Louvain,  Aeg.  van 

der  Heerstraten      ........ 

Butrio,  Antonio  de.      Comment,  super  primo  decretalium.      1 473 . 

Rome,  U.  Han      ........ 

Capella,  Martianus.      Opera.      1499.      Vicenza,  H.  de  Sancto  Urso 
Capitulos  de  governadores.      1  500.      Seville,  Pegnitzer  £3"  Herbst 
Castro,  Paulus  de.     Consilia.      1485.      Nuremberg,  A.  Koberger 
Cavalca,  Domenico.      Frutti  della  Lingua,      s.  a.      Florence,  s.  n.  t. 
Cavalca,  Domenico.     Specchio  di  Croce.     s.  a.      Florence,  s.  n.  t. 
Caxton,  William.     Cronycles  of  England.     1493.      Antwerp,  G.  Leeu 
Charles  the  Great.      1485.      Westminster,  W.  Caxton 
Christine  de  Pisan.     Fayts  of  Arms.      1489.      Westminster, 

W.  Caxton  ........ 

Christine  de  Pisan.     Moral  Proverbes.      1478.      Westminster, 

W.  Caxton  ........ 

Cicero.      De  Officiis.      1478.      Naples,  s.  n.  t. 
Cicero.     De  Oratore.      1470.      Venice,  C.  Valdarfer 
Cicero.      Epistolae  ad  Atticum.      1470.      Venice,  N  Jenson 
Cicero.      Epistolae  ad  Familiares.      1469.      Venice,  John  of  Speier 
.     Second  edition    ....... 

1 47 1 .      Venice,  N.  Jenson  .... 

1472.      Milan,  F.  da  Lavagna      .... 

Cicero.      Officia  et  Paradoxa.      1465.      Mainz,  Fust  &  Scboeffer 
Cicero.      Orationes.      147 1 .      Venice,  C.  Valdarfer    . 

1472.      Venice,  Adam  of  Ammergau 

Cicero.      Orationes  Philippicae.     c.  1470.      Rome,  U.  Han 
Cicero.     Rhetorica.      1470.      Venice,  N.  Jenson 
Cleve,  Johann  von.     Moteta.      1580.     Augsburg,  P.   Ulhard  &  A. 
Reinbeckel    ......••• 

Colonna,  F.  de.    Hypnerotomachia  Poliphili.      H99-      Venice,  Aldus 
Cordyale.      1479.      Westminster,  W.  Caxton    .... 

Curtius,  Franciscus.      Consilia.      1496.      Milan,  U.  Scinzenzeler 


17 

23 

165 

82 

74 

106 
102 

149 

128 


1 « 5 

118 

139 
154 

'54 

72 

136 

•37 

'74 
162 

49 
43 
32 

33 
48 
149 
18 
5o 
52 
88 
42 

129 
124 
176 
US 


INDEX  189 


Cyprian.      Epistulae.      147 1 .      Rome,   Sweynheym  iff  Pannartz     . 
Dante.      Divina  Commedia.      1476.      Venice,  W.  of  Speier 
Decor  Puellarum.      See  Honore  de  le  Donzelle. 
Destructorium  Vitiorum.      148  5.      Cologne,  s.  n.  t.    . 

1496.      Nuremberg,  A.  Koberger  .... 

1497.      Paris,  P.  Levet        ..... 

Durandus,  Gul.     Speculum.     1488.     Venice,  Paganinis  iff  Arrivabene 
Exercitium  puerorum  grammaticale.       '494-       Strassburg,  s.  n.  t. 
Faber,  Joannes.      Breviarium  super  codice.      c.  1475.       Louvain,  John 

of  Westphalia         ........ 

Fasciculus  Temporum.      1476.      Louvain,  J.  Veldener 

1 48 1 .      Rougemont,   H.   fVirzburg 

1482.     Basel,  B.  Ricbel 

1495.      Geneva,  s.  n.  t. 

Gambilionibus,  Angelus  de.  Lectura  super  Institutionum  libros  quatuor 
1473.      Pavia,  Jo.  de  Sidriano  ...... 

Gambilionibus,  Angelus  de.  Tractatus  Maleficiorum.  1472.  Mantua 
Petrus  Adam  ........ 

Godefroy  of  Boloyne.      1481.      Westminster,  W.    Caxton   . 

Gregory  IX.      Decretales.      1474-      Rome,  U.  Han    . 

1489.      Venice,   P.  de  Paganinis    .... 

1 49 1 .     Venice,  Jo.  Hamann  .... 


Gringore,  P.      Le   Chasteau  de  Labour.      1500/01.      Paris,  Pigouchet 

for  Vostre    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    179 

Guido  de  Baysio.      Super  Decretis.      1481.      Venice,  John  of  Cologne  iff 

Jenson  ..........      78 

Guillermus.      Postilla.      1493-     Strassburg,  s.  n.  t.      .  .  .  .    183 

Harderwyck,  Gerard.     Commentarii  in  quatuor  libros  noue  logice.     1494 

Cologne,   U.  Zell  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .156 

Herolt,  Joannes.      Sermones  Discipuli  de  Tempore.      1476.      Rostock, 

Brothers  of  the  Common  Life    .  .  .  .  .  .  93 

Homeliarius  Doctorum.      1499.      Basel,  N.  Kessler  .  .  155 

Homer.      Opera.       1488.      Florence,  B.  Libri  ....        5 

Honore  de  le  Donzelle.      '1461.'      Venice,  N.  Jenson        .  .  -45 

Hroswitha.     Opera.      1501.      Nuremberg,  Sodalitas  Celtica  .  .119 

Hugo  de  S.  Caro.     Postilla  super  Psalterium.      1496.     Venice,  Gregorii      112 
Jacobus  Bergomensis.      Supplementum  Chronicarum.      1483.      Venice, 

B.  Benalius  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  131 

1490.      Venice,  B.  Rizus      .  .  .  .  .  .132 

Jerome.      Commentaria  in  Bibliam.      1498.      Venice,  Gregorii      .  .112 

Jerome.      Epistulae.      1470.      Mainz,  P.  Schoeffer    .  .  .  19 

Jerome.      Expositio  in  symbolum  Apostolorum.      See  Rufinus. 


PAGE 
87 
4O 

168 
ib. 

ib. 

166 

95 

84 
84 

167 
ib. 

168 

58 

60 

!34 
108 

169 

ib. 


190  INDEX 


PAGE 


Journal  Spirituel.      1505.      Paris,  A.  V'erard    .....    105 
Justinian.      Codex.      1475.      Mainz,,  P.  Schoeffer     .          .          .          -24 
Justinian.      Institutiones.      1476.      Mainz,  P.  Schoeffer      .          .          .26 
Laet,  Joannes.      Pronosticationes.      1476.      Louvain,  John  of  West- 
phalia  86 

Leonardo,  Aretino.     De  Bello  Italico.      147 1 .      Venice,  N.  Jenson       .     48 

Leonardo,  Aretino.     Istoria  Fiorentina.      1476.      Venice,  Ja.  de  Rossi     180 

Lima  Vitiorum.      See  Quadragesimale. 

Lucretius.     De  Rerum  Natura.      c.  1473-      Brescia,  T.  Ferrandus       .    153 

Luctus  Christianorum.      See  Pianto  de  Christiani. 

Malory,  Sir  Thomas.      Morte  d' Arthur.      1485.      Westminster,  W. 

Caxton         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .125 

Mandeville,  Sir  John.      Itinerarius.     s.  a.     Caracteribus  Veneticis  .      80 

Maneken,  Carolus.      Epistolarum  Formulae.      1476.      Louvain,  J. 

Veldener       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .164 

Mataratius,  Franciscus.      De  componendis  versibus.      •  1468.'      Venice, 

E.  Ratdolt  .........        46  note 

Mates,  Bartolommeo.      Libellus  pro  efficiendis  orationibus.      •  1468.' 

Barcelona,  Jo.   G  her  line  ......        46  note 

Matthaeus  Silvaticus.      Liber  cibalis.      H74-      Naples,  Arnold  of 

Brussels        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .106 

Miraculi  de  la  Vergene  Maria.      '1469.'       Milan,  Lavagna  .  .      60 

Mirror  of  the  World.      1480.      Westminster,  W.  Caxton    .  .  .176 

Missale  Vratislauiense.      1483.      Mainz,  P.  Schoeffer  ...        8 

Missale  Misnense.      1485.      Freiberg,  C.  Kachelofen  .  .  .66 

Missale  Romanum.      1484.      Venice,  Paganinis  &  Arrivabene     .  .   147 

Missale  Salisburgense.      1498.      Nuremberg,  G.  Stuchs        .  .  .    145 

Natta,  Georgius.      Repetitio  de  verborum  significatione.      1482.     Pavia, 

C.  de  Canibus        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  -Iz5 

Nicolaus  de  Auximo.      Supplementum  Summae  Pisanellae  (author's 

colophon)     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .    133 

(Printer's)   c.  1472.      Venice,  W.  of  Speier     .  .  .    173 

Nuremberg  Chronicle.      See  Schedel. 

Pace,  Richard.      Oratio.      1518.     London,  R.  Pynson  .  .  .118 

Parole  devote  de  l'anima  inamorata.      147 1 .      Venice,  N.  Jenson  .      44 

Paul,  S.      Epistres  S.  Pol.      1507.      Paris,  A.  V'erard        .  .  .117 

Petrarch.      Sonetti.      1470.      Venice,  W.  of  Speier    .  .  .  -38 

Petrarch.      Trionfi.      1477.      Lucca,  Bar.  de  Cividale         .  .  -59 

Petrus  de  Abano.     Expositio  Problematum  Aristotelis.     1475.     Mantua, 

Paul  of  Butzbach 97 

Petrus  de  Abano.      Remedia  Venenorum.      1475.      Rome,  J.  P.  de 

Lignamine    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  •  •    J75 

Petrus  de  Ancharano.      Repetitio.      H93-      Bologna,  Ben.  Hectoris        .    141 


Phaiaris.     Epistolae.      1485 
Pianto  de  Christiani.      1471 
Pius  II,  Pope.      Epistolae. 
Pliny.      Historia  Naturalis. 
Plutarch.      Apophthegmata. 
Politian.      Opera.      1499* 
Psalterium.      1457 
Psalterium.      1459 


INDEX 

Oxford,  Rood  &  Hunte 
Venice,  N.  Jenson 
'  1458.'      Cologne,  J.  Koelhoff 
1469.      Venice,  John  of  Speier 
1 47 1.      Venice,  John  of  Speier 
•Florence.'      [Brescia,  B.  Misinta.] 
Mainz,  Fust  y  Scboeffer 
Mainz,  Fust  &  Scboeffer 


1497.      Brescia,  Ang. 


191 

PAGE 
6l 

43 
47 
35 
38 
160 

12 

l3 


Quadragesimale  quod  dicitur  Lima  Vitiorum 

Britannicus  .... 

Quintilian.      Instituta.      147 1.      Venice,  N.  Jenson 
Regius,  Raphael.      Epistulae  Plinii.      1490.      Venice,  Anima  Mia 
Robertus  de  Licio.      Quadragesimale.      1472.      Venice,  B.  de  Cremona 
Rolewinck,  Werner.      See  Fasciculus  Temporum. 
Royal  Book.      1484.      Westminster,  W.   Caxton 
Rufinus  of  Aquileia.      Expositio  in  symbolum  Apostolorum.      «  1468.' 

Oxford.      [T.  Rood.]  46  note 


114 

48 

74 
52 

135 


Sallust.      Opera.      1470.      Venice,  W.  of  Speier 

[Second  edition.]      1471       . 

1470.      Paris,  Gering,  &c.  .... 

1 474.      Venice,  John  of  Cologne  &  J.  Mantben 

Schedel,  Hartmann.      Liber  Chronicarum.      1493.      Nuremberg,  A. 

Koberger       ......... 

Seneca.      Tragediae.      H97*      Venice,  P.  Bergamascbo 

Statius.      Achilleis.      147 3.      Parma,  S.  Corallus 

Suetonius.     Vitae  Caesarum.      14.71 .      Venice,  N.  Jenson  . 

Thomas  Aquinas.      De  Veritate.      1499.      Cologne,  H.  Quenteil  . 

Thomas  Aquinas.      Quodlibet.      H75*      Ulm,  J.  Zainer    . 

Tituli  Decisionum.      1477.      Mainz,  P.  Scboeffer 

Tritheim,  Joh.     Compendium  de  Origine  regum  et  gentis  Francorum. 

1  51  5.      Mainz,  J.  Scboeffer  ...... 

Triumpho  de  Virtude.      147 1 .      Venice,  N.  Jenson    . 
Turrecremata,  Cardinal.      Meditationes.      1472.     Rome,  U.  Han 
Valla,  Laur.     De  Elegantia  Linguae  Latinae.     H75*      Rome,  A. 

Pannartz      ........ 

Valturius.      De  Re  Militari.      1472.      Verona,  J.  de  Verona 
Vegetius.      De  Militari  Disciplina.      1488.      Pescia,  Sig.  Rodt 
Virgil.      Opera.      1472.      Padua,  L.  Achates   . 

1471/72.      Florence,  Cennini 

Visconti,  Gasparo.      Rithmi.      1493.      Milan,  A.  Zarotus  . 
Vitas  Patrum.      1495.      Westminster,  W.  de  Worde  . 
Vocabularius  ex  quo.      1467.      Eltville,  Becbtermunze  &  Spiess 


-z, 


37 

39 
69 

77 

121 

'•3 
109 

47 

H5 

58 

23 

26 

44 
120 

96 
120 

100 

54 

63 

103 

»74 

15 


II 


GENERAL  INDEX 


Achates,  Leonardus,  colophon  quoted, 

54- 

Acqui,  colophon  of  unknown  printer 
at,  65. 

Adam  of  Ammergau,  colophon  bor- 
rowed from  Valdarfer,  52. 

Adinventio,  possible  meanings  of  the 
word,  12,  29  note. 

Advertisements  used  by  15th-century 
printers,  89. 

Aldus  Manutius,  date  from  which  he 
reckoned  his  years,  1 8 1 ;  colophon 
of  his  edition  of  the  « Hypneroto- 
machia,'  1  24. 

Armorial  devices  used  by  printers, 
20,  22. 

Arnold  of  Brussels,  colophon  quoted, 
106. 

Arriuabenus  and  Paganinis,  colophons 
quoted,  147,  166. 

Arundel,  Earl  of,  his  financial  help  to 
Caxton's  «  Golden  Legend,'  99. 

Asparagus, — a  book  printed  quicker 
than  asparagus  can  be  cooked,  109. 

Authors,  privileges  for  exclusive  print- 
ing granted  to,  113;  authors'  and 
editors'  colophons,  123—158. 

Balsarin,  G.,  copies  the  Caesaris  copy 
of  a  Veldener  colophon,  165. 

Barcelona,  book  printed  at,  dated 
'  1468,'  46  note. 


Bartholomaeus  de  Chaimis,  German 
copies  of  Valdarfer' s  Milan  edition 
of  his  •  Confessionale,'  161. 

Bartolommeo  of  Cremona,  colophon 
quoted,  52. 

Bell-ringer,  Lerida  Breviary  financed 
by  a,  102. 

Benedictus  Hectoris,  an  example  of  an 
editor's  contempt  for  his  predeces- 
sors, 142. 

Bergamascho,  Piero,  colophon 
quoted,  113. 

Bible,  praises  of  the,  in  colophons, 
94,  112;  rarity  of  colophons  in  the 
early  printed  editions,  10  sqq. 

Bistricci,  Vespasiano  da,  his  contempt 
for  printed  books,  xix. 

Boastful ness  in  colophons,  58. 

Bottonus.     See  Bruschus. 

Brescia,  privileges  granted  at  Venice 
affected  printing  at,  1 14. 

Brice,  Hugh,  finances  Caxton's 
«  Mirror  of  the  World,'  99. 

Brothers  of  the  Common  Life,  at 
Rostock,  colophon  quoted,  92. 

Brown,  Horatio,  his  '  The  Venetian 
Printing  Press  '  quoted,  34,  62,  1 10. 

Bruno,  Henricus,  complaint  of  over- 
work, 127. 

Bruschus,  Bartholomaeus,  on  his 
brother's  death,  71. 

92 


INDEX 


193 


Caesaris,  P.,  his  copy  of  a  Veldener 
colophon  copied  by  Balsarin,  165. 

Calends,  method  of  reckoning  days 
of  the  month  by,  182. 

Capitales  litterae,  capitalia,  initial 
letters,  not  simply  majuscules,  12, 
81  (N.  B.  The  explanation  in  the 
text  at  p.  81  is  wrong,  the  reference 
being  to  the  initial  letters  of  the  first 
seven  lines  of  the  colophon,  which 
make  the  name  Gunther). 

Capitalia.     See  Capitales  litterae. 

Caracterizare,  meaning  of  the  word, 
1  2  sq. 

Carbo,  Lodovicus,  his  verse 
colophons,  31,  50  sq. 

Casal  Maggiore,  Hebrew  book 
finished  at,  69. 

Caxton,  William,  specimens  of  his 
colophons,  133—138,  174,  176;  his 
patrons  and  helpers,  99,  135;  his 
advertisement  of  the  Sarum  Direc- 
torium  or  •  Pie,'  89;  his  difficulties 
with  the  text  of  Chaucer,  153;  De 
Worde's  reference  to  his  last  hours, 
72. 

Cennini,  Ber.  and  Dom.,  colophons  to 
their  Virgil  quoted,  63  sq. 

Cepolla,  Bartolommeo,  his  self- 
advertisement,  139. 

Chalcographi,  meaning  of  the  word, 
53- 

Chardella,  Simon,  finances  Ulrich 
Han,  101. 

Chaucer,  Geoffrey,  Caxton's 
difficulties  with  his  text,  153. 

Cheapness,  vaunts  of,  in  colophons, 
106. 

Christie,  R.  C,  his  detection  of  the 
1499  Brescia  Politian,  purporting  to 
be  printed  at  Florence,  159  sq. 

Cividale,  Bartolommeo  de,  colophon 
quoted,  59. 

Classical  texts,  the  Italian  market  in 
1472  overstocked  with,  108  sq.; 
their  editors'  colophons,  149—153. 


Cleve,  Johann  von,  musician,  his 
troubles  with  his  printers,  129. 

Cluniac  monastery  at  Rougemont. 
See  Rougemont. 

Codex,  meaning  of  the  word,  1  2. 

Cologne,  book  dated  «  1458  '  printed 
at,  47  note. 

Colophon,  the  city,  xi. 

Colophons,  original  meaning  and 
derivation  of  the  word  colophon, 
ix  ;  history  of  its  use  in  England, 
x  ;  its  connection  with  the  city  of 
Colophon,  xi  ;  general  remarks  on, 
1-7  ;  colophons  not  found  in  all 
early  printed  books,  4,  9  sqq.,  15  ; 
their  information  often  defective,  4  ; 
more  often  found  in  Latin  than  in 
vernacular  books,  6  sq.,  44,  47  ; 
their  use  a  sign  of  the  printer's  pride 
in    his   work,    6,    9,    22,    82,    85  ; 

EXAMPLES      OF       COLOPHONS      USED      AT 

mainz,  8-29 ;  difficulty  of  exactly 
translating  words  used  in,  12  sq., 
24,  53  ;  phrases  taken  over  from  one 
colophon  to  another,  15  sq.  ;  pos- 
sible significance  of  this,  17  sq.,  52  ; 
attachment  of  printers'  devices  to, 
20,  23,  82  ;  their  evidence  as  to  the 
invention     of    printing,     25     sqq.  ; 

EXAMPLES     OF    VENETIAN     COLOPHONS, 

30—56  ;  their  information  as  to  the 
size  of  early  Venice  editions,  32,  34, 
37;  use  of  verse  in,  31,  52,  54; 
misprinted  dates  in,  43  sqq.,  60  ; 
printers'  colophons  in  general, 
57—90  ;  frequent  expression  ot 
religious  feeling  in,  57  sq.,  92  sq.; 
boastfulness  in,  58  ;  often  used  to 
claim  credit  for  introducing  printing 
into  a  particular  town,  58-60  ;  al- 
lusion in  an  Oxford  colophon  to 
Venice  printers,  62;  Florentine  al- 
lusion to  spaces  left  for  Greek  words, 
64;  their  allusions  to  the  plague,  65 
sqq.;  tell  us  of  books  begun  in  one 
place  and  ended  at  another,  67  sqq. ; 
their  allusions  to  war,  69  sq.  ;  to 
deaths  of  printers,    36,    71    sq. ;  to 


194 


INDEX 


relations  between  masters  and  work- 
men, 72  sq.,  78  ;  their  apologies  for 
misprints,  72-74  ;  allusions  in  a 
Naples  colophon  to  the  printers' 
enemies,  75  ;  boasts  of  loyalty,  76 
sq.  ;  references  in  colophons  to  types, 
80  ;  an  Augsburg  colophon  with  an 
acrostic  of  the  printer's  name  (see 
under  Capitales  litterae),  8 1 ;  ref- 
erences to  their  printers'  marks,  82— 
86  ;  express  their  printers'  desire  to 
make  their  names  known,  87  sq.  ; 
publishers'  colophons,  91—122; 
their  professions  of  unselfish  zeal,  91 
sqq.  ;  praise  of  the  books  to  which 
they  are  appended,  94  sqq. ;  their 
demand  for  gratitude,  92  ;  allusions 
to  the  help  given  by  patrons,  99  sqq. ; 
or  by  a  philanthropic  partner,  101, 
108  ;  the  publisher  in  one  case  a 
bell-ringer,  102  ;  in  another  a  poet, 
103  ;  colophons  often  precise  in  their 
note  of  their  publishers'  address,  1 04 ; 
their  vaunts  of  cheapness,  106  ;  or 
of  a  correctness  beyond  price,  108  ; 
allusions  to  quick  printing,  109  ; 
their  references  to  privileges  for  ex- 
clusive printing,  1 10-120  ;  their 
scanty  allusions  to  pictures  in  books, 

121      Sq.   ;      COLOPHONS      OF      AUTHORS 

and  editors,  123-158  ;  examples  of 
these  in  combination  with  printers' 
or  publishers'  colophons,  I  24  sqq.  ; 
colophons  an  outlet  for  the  author's 
thankfulness,  125  ;  or  his  com- 
plaints —  a  grumble  at  overwork, 
127;  complaints  of  printers,  129; 
apologies  for  bad  Latin,  130  ;  details 
as  to  author's  age,  131  ;  an  author's 
precaution  to  prevent  his  colophon 
being  omitted,  132;  colophons  of 
William  Caxton,  133-138  ;  colo- 
phons used  to  advertise  the  author, 
139  sq.;  or  to  allow  editors  to  de- 
preciate their  predecessors,  140  sqq.; 
colophons  of  liturgical  printers  and 
editors,  145-148  ;  of  editors  of 
classical  texts,  149-153;  allusions 
to  textual  difficulties  also  in  modern 


works,  154;  editorial  pleas  for  in- 
dulgence, 156;  editorial  gratitude  to 
helpers,    157;  repetitions,  thefts, 

AND   ADAPTATIONS   OF   COLOPHONS, 

159-169;  grammatical  errors  intro- 
duced by  thieves,  165  ;  dates  in 
colophons,  170—184;  common  er- 
rors in  reading  them,  183  sq. 

Conrad  of  Westphalia,  steals  a 
colophon  of  Veldener's,  162. 

Copyright,  possibly  more  respected 
in  German  cities  than  elsewhere,  1 7 
sq.  ;  at  first  dependent  on  courtesy 
or  rules  of  trade-guilds,  22  ;  secured 
by  '  privileges,'   1 10-120. 

Corallus,  Stephanus,  colophon 
quoted,  109. 

Cornazanus,  Antonius,  his  verse 
colophons,  31. 

Corniger,  Franciscus,  prints  his 
patron's  poems,  103. 

Creusner,  Fridericus,  copies  a 
Valdarfer  colophon,  161. 

Damilas,  Demetrio,  corrector  of  the 

Florentine  Homer,  5  sq. 
Dates  in  colophons,  170-184. 
Daubeney,  W.,  urges  Caxton  to 

print  'Charles  the  Great,'  99,  136. 
Deaths  of  printers,  allusions  to,  in 

colophons,  36,  71. 
Demetrio  of  Milan.     See  Damilas. 
Devices,   attached  to  colophons,  82; 

examples  of  portraits  used  as,  84  sq. 
Diel,  Florentinus,  his  charges  against 

previous  editors,  143. 
Doges,  names  of,  in  colophons,  41 ; 

list  of,  173. 
Dupre  and  Gerard,  colophon  quoted, 

179. 

Easter  day,  1 470-1  521,  list  of  dates 

on  which  it  fell,  178  ;    French  year 

began  with,  179. 
Editions,  number  of  copies    in   those 

first  printed  at  Venice,  32,  34,  37  ; 

at  Milan,  151  sq. 


INDEX 


195 


Editors'  and  authors'  colophons, 

123-158. 
Eggestein,  Heinrich,  his  books  before 

1 47 1  not  dated,  1 1. 
Elementa,  Elementatum,  meaning  of 

the  words,  24—80. 
England,  year  used  to  begin  on  March 

25th  in,  176  ;  regnal  years  of  kings 

(1461-1603),  172. 
Errors  of  dating  in  colophons  and  in 

reading  them,  183  sq. 

Floods,  allusion  to,  in  a  colophon, 

167. 
Florence,  colophons  of  books  printed 

at,    5,    63,    154,    160;    Florentine 

year  began  on  Lady  day,  181. 
Foresti,  Jacobus.    See  Jacobus 

Bergomensis. 
Fossa,  Evangelio,  privilege  granted 

to,  for  all  his  writings,  113. 
France,  regnal  years  of  kings  (146 1  — 

1610),  172. 
Franciscus,  Magister,  his  verses  in 

Mainz  editions  of  Justinian,  26. 
Free  trade,  effect  of,  on  English 

printing,  110. 
Freiberg,  first  book  printed  at,  67. 
Fust,   Johann,  colophons   from   books 

printed  by,  10  sqq.  ;  failure  of  his 

health,  18. 

Geese  of  the  Capitol,  Ulrich  Han's 
allusion  to,  88. 

•  Germani  fidelissimi,'  who  they 
were,  77. 

Germany,  day  on  which  the  year  be- 
gan in,  177  ;  method  of  indicating 
days  of  the  month  and  week  by 
saints'  days,  introits,  etc.,  used  in, 
1 8  z  sq  ;  privileges  for  exclusive  print- 
ing granted  in,  1 1 9. 

Grammars  vaunted  as  royal  roads  to 
learning,  95  sqq. 

Grammatical  slips  in  borrowed 
colophons,  165  sq. 


Greek,  allusion  in  a  Florentine  colo- 
phon to  the  practice  of  leaving  blank 
spaces  for  Greek  quotations,  64  ;  a 
Greek  colophon,  5. 

Gregorii,  J.  and  G.,  colophons  quoted, 
112  sqq. 

Gutenberg,  Johann,  never  put  his 
name  to  any  printed  book,  1 1  ;  his 
tradition  of  secrecy  imitated,  ib.  ; 
sale  of  his  types,  17. 

Hamann,  Johann,  adopts  part  of  a 
colophon,  169. 

Han,  Ulrich,  colophons  quoted,  88, 
IOI,  108,  120;  financed  by  Simon 
Chardella,  10 1  ;  copies  Schoeffer's 
colophons  and  makes  blunders  in 
them,  165-168. 

Henry  VII,  Caxton's  relations  with, 

137. 
Herbort,  Johann,  colophons  quoted, 

78  sq. 
Hoemberch,  Conrad  de.    See  Winters. 
Horae,  references  in,  to  their  pictures, 

120. 
Hortus     Sanitatis,    reference     in     the 

colophon  of  Meidenbach's  edition  to 

its  pictures,  121. 

Ides,  method  of  dating  by,  182. 
Indictions,  method  of  reckoning  by, 

used  in  colophons,  70. 
Introit  at  high  mass,  first  word  used 

to   denote    the    Sunday  to   which    it 

belonged,  183. 
Invocavit  Sunday,  184. 

Jacobus  Bergomensis,  his  age  when  he 
finished  different  editions  of  the  Sup- 
plementum  Chronicarum,  131  sq. 

Jakob  of  Amsfort,  Ulrich  Zell's 
acknowledgment  of  his  help,  157. 

Januensis  (of  Genoa),  8 1 . 

Jenson,  Nicolas,  colophons  quoted, 
41—49  ;  partnership  with  John  of 
Cologne,  78  ;  one  of  his  colophons 
reprinted  at  Naples,  162. 


196 


INDEX 


John  of  Cologne,  finances  Wendelin 

of  Speier,    36  ;   colophons    quoted, 

55,  77  sq.,   169. 
John  of  Speier,  colophons  in  his 

books,  32  sq. 
John  of  Verona,  colophons  quoted, 

120. 
John  of  Westphalia,  his  portrait  device 

mentioned  in  his  colophons,  84,  86. 
Justinian,  verses  of  Magister  Franciscus 

in  Mainz  editions  of  the  Institutes  and 

Decretals,  26. 

Kachelofen,  Conrad,  colophon  to 
Meissen  Missal,  67. 

Kessler,  N.,  colophon  quoted,  155. 

Koberger,  Anton,  colophons  quoted, 
121,  148  ;  borrows  a  Cologne  colo- 
phon, 168. 

Koelhoff,  Johann,  book  dated  •  1458  ' 
printed  by,  47  note. 

Lady  day,  March  25,  in  England  and 
Florence  year  used  to  begin  on,  176, 
181. 

Laetare  Sunday,  183. 

Latis,  Bonetus  de,  asks  indulgence  for 
his  bad  Latin,  131. 

Lavagna,  F.  da,  colophons  quoted, 
60,   149. 

Leeu,  Gerard,  allusion  to  his  death, 
72. 

Levet,  Pierre,  uses  a  Cologne 
colophon,  168. 

Libri,  Bartolommeo  di,  Proctor's  dis- 
covery of  his  importance  as  a  Floren- 
tine printer,  4-6. 

Lisa,  Gerard  de,  colophon  quoted,  59. 

Liturgical  books,  colophons  in,  145- 
148. 

Livy,  verses  in  Wendelin  of  Speier' s 
1470  edition  of,  37. 

Lucca,  first  book  printed  at,  59. 
Lucretius,  rarity  of  medieval  texts  of, 
153- 


Mainz  colophons,  8-29. 

Malory,  Sir  Thomas,  his  illness  and 

death,  124. 
Manthen,  Johann,  partnership  with 

John  of  Cologne,  78. 
Mantua,  first  book  printed  at,  59. 
Marnef,  Geoffroi,  colophon  quoted, 

106. 
Masters  and  workmen,  references  to 

the  relations  between,  72  sq.,  78. 
Matthias  Moravus,  was  he  one  of  the 

■  Germani  fidelissimi'  ?  77. 
Mentelin,  Johann,  his  books  before 

1473  not  dated,  1 1. 
Milan,  rival  claims  to  the  first 

introduction  of  printing  at,  60. 
Misinta,  Bernard,  his  attribution  of 

his  1499  Politian  to  Florence,  160. 
Misprints,  apologies  for,   72  sqq.;  in 

dates  in  colophons,  43-48. 
Missal  printers,  their  special  claims  to 

accuracy,  145  sqq. 
Muller,  Johann,  his  advertisement  of 

his  books,  89. 

Natta,  Georgius,  embassy  to  Milan, 

127. 
Nerli,  Bernardo  and  Nerio,  finance  the 

Florentine  Homer,  5  sq. 
New  Year,  date  of,  in  various 

countries,  175  sqq. 
Nicolaus  de  Auximo,  finishes  in  1444 

his  Supplementum  Summae  Pisanellae, 

133- 

Nones,  method  of  dating  by,  182. 

Oculi  Sunday,  183. 

Olympiades  Dominicae,  79,  170. 

Olympiads,  Theodoric  Rood's 

misreckoning  by,  61,  170. 
Omnibonus  Leonicenus,  his  verse 

colophons,  31,  42. 
Orlandi,  Sebastian  and  Raphael  dei, 

patrons  of  Pescia  printers,  99. 
Ortus  Sanitatis.    See  Hortus. 


INDEX 


197 


Oxford,  book  dated  '1468'  printed 
at,  46  note  ;  the  colophon  of  the 
1485  *  Phalaris,'  62. 

Paderborn,  John  of.      See  John  of 
Westphalia. 

Paganinus  de  Paganinis,  adopts  part 
of  a  John  of  Cologne  and  Jenson 
colophon,  169. 

Palares,  Antonio,  bell-ringer,  finances 
a  Lerida  breviary,  102. 

Pannartz,  Arnold,  his  praise  of  Valla's 
'De  Elegantia  Linguae  Latinae,'  96  ; 
see  also  Sweynheym  and  Pannartz. 

Pavia,  first  book  printed  at,  58. 

Pictures  in  early  printed   books, 
colophons  alluding  to,  120-122. 

Pigouchetand  Vostre,  colophon  quoted, 
179. 

Plague,  allusions  to,  in  colophons,  65, 
67. 

Pleydenwurff,  W.,  illustrator  of  the 
'  Nuremberg  Chronicle,'   121. 

Politian,  edition  of,  printed  at  Brescia 
with  the  false  imprint  •  Florentiae,' 
159. 

Popes,  1458-1534,  list  of,  171  sq. 

Portrait  devices,  84  sq. 

Pratt,  William,  urges  Caxton  to  print 
the  'Book  of  Good  Manners,'  99. 

Printers'  devices,  use  of,  in  colophons, 
20  ;  their  significance,  22. 

Printing,  invention  of,  secrecy  ob- 
served by  Gutenberg  and  his  fol- 
lowers as  to,  ii;  evidence  obtain- 
able from  colophons  as  to,  25  sq.; 
Johann  Schoeffer' s  account  of,  27 
sqq. 

Privileges  for  exclusive  printing,  early 
history  of,  1 10—120. 

Proctor,  Robert,  his  identifications  of 
the  printers  of  incunabula,  4  sqq.; 
his  arrangement  of  the  earliest  Vene- 
tian books,  34. 

Punctuation,  explanation  of  the  system 
used  in  a  Salzburg  Missal,  145. 


Pynson,    Richard,    colophon    quoted, 
118. 


Ratdolt,  Erhard,  book  dated  '  1468  ' 

printed  by,  46  note  ;  his  specimen- 
sheet,  89. 
Regiomontanus,  Joannes.      See 

Muller. 
Regnal  years  of  popes  and  kings  of 

England  and  France,  171  sqq. 
Religious  feeling  in  colophons,  57. 
Reminiscere  Sunday,   183. 
Richel,  Bernard,  his  books  before  1474 

not  dated,  1 1  ;  adopts  a  Rougemont 

colophon,  167. 
Ricius,  Bernardus,  colophon  quoted, 

ill. 
Riessinger,    Sixtus,    complains   of  his 

enemies,     75  ;     relations     with     F. 

Tuppo,  76. 
Roman  letter,  first  book  wholly  printed 

in,  in  England,  1 1  8. 
Rood,  Theodoric,  his  misreckoning  by 

Olympiads,   61,    1 70 ;   colophon    of 

his  'Phalaris'  quoted,  61. 
Rougemont,    Cluniac    monastery    at, 

colophon    of    book     printed    there, 

167. 
Ruppel,  Bertold,  never  dated  any  of 

his  books,  1 1 . 

Sabellico,  Marc  Antonio,  privilege  for 
exclusive  printing  granted  to,  ill. 

Saints'  days,  German  books  often  dated 
by,  182. 

Schoeffer,  Johann,  his  account  of  the 
invention  of  printing,  27—29. 

Schoeffer,  Peter,  his  colophons  quoted, 
8,  10,  16,  18,  20  sqq.;  his  glo- 
rification of  the  art  of  printing,  1 1 ; 
his  allusion  to  his  printer's  device 
imitated  by  Wenssler,  22;  copies 
one  of  Valdarfer's  colophons,  161  ; 
his  own  colophons  copied  by  Han, 
165,  and  Wenssler,  168. 


198 


INDEX 


Scinzenzeler,  Ulrich,  colophon 

quoted,  115. 
Scribes,  their  influence  on  printers, 

xvii. 
Sensenschmidt  and  Frisner  allude  to 

their  device  in  a  colophon,  85. 
Sidriano,  Jo.  de,  colophon  quoted,  58. 
Sodalitas  Celtica  of  Nuremberg, 

colophon  quoted,  119. 
Spain,  privileges  for  exclusive  printing 

granted  in,    118. 
Speier.    See  John  of  Speier,  Wendelin 

of  Speier. 
Stuchs,  Georg,  colophon  quoted, 

146. 
Sweynheym  and  Pannartz,  their 

apology  for  their  harsh  names,  87. 

Therhoernen,  Arnold,  colophon 

quoted,  92. 
Title-pages,  first  appearance  of,  xvii. 
Tuppo,  Francesco,  relations  with 

Riessinger,  76. 

V  misprinted  for  X,  61  ;  often  mis- 
taken for  it,  183. 

Valdarfer,  Christopher,  colophons 
quoted,  49,  51  ;  his  colophon  to 
his  1474  '  Confessionale  '  unintelli- 
gently  copied  in  Germany,  161. 

Veldener,  Jan,  mentions  his  device  in 
a  colophon,  84  sq. ;  one  of  his 
colophons  pirated  by  Conrad  of 
Westphalia,  163  sq.;  its  subsequent 
history,  165. 

Venice,  colophons  quoted,  25-56,  77, 
80,  in,  112,  124,  131,  132,  147, 
173  ;  Oxford  colophon's  allusion  to 
Venice  printers,  62  ;  a  reference  to 
its  foundation,  70  ;  book  privileges 
granted  at,  1 1 1  —  1 13  ;  list  of  doges 
of,  173  ;  date  when  the  year  began 
at,  180. 

Verard,  Antoine,  careful  address  in 
his  colophons,  105;  colophons 
quoted,  105,  117. 


Verona,  colophon  quoted,  120. 
Verse,  use  of,  in  colophons,  3 1 ;  the 

author's  apology  for  his  renderings, 

it. 

Vicenza,  books  printed  at,  protected 
by  Venetian  privileges,  115. 

Virgil,  verses  in  Wendelin  of  Speier' s 
1470  edition,  37. 

War,  references  to,  in  colophons, 
69  sq. 

Wendelin  of  Speier,  colophons 
quoted,  36-41. 

Wenssler,  Michael,  colophon  quoted, 
82  ;  imitates  Schoeffer's  use  of  ar- 
morial device,  22  ;  copies  one  of 
Schoeffer's  colophons,  168. 

Westminster  colophons.    See  Caxton. 

Westphalia,  John  of.    See  John. 

Winds,  allusion  to,  in  a  colophon, 
168. 

Winters,  Conrad,  mentions  his  device 
in  a  colophon,  85. 

Wirzburg,  Heinrich,  colophon 

quoted,   166. 
Wolgemut,  M.,  illustrator  of  the 

•  Nuremberg  Chronicle,'    121. 

X,  examples  of  accidental  omission 
of,  from  dates  in  colophons,  43,  46 
sq.;  V  printed  in  the  place  of,  61  ; 
often  mistaken  for  it,  183. 

Year,  date  of  beginning  in  various 
countries,  175  sqq. 

Zainer,  Giinther,  verse  colophon  with 

acrostic  of  his  Christian  name,  81. 
Zainer,  Johann,  colophon  quoted,  58. 
Zaroto,  Antonio,  his  claim   to  be  the 

first  printer    at    Milan   disputed    by 

Lavagna,  60  sq. 
Zell,  Ulrich,  colophon  quoted,  156. 
Zovenzonius,  Raphael,  his  verse 

colophons,  31. 


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